Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

भस्महुतं पार्थ यथा तोयविवर्जितम् । निष्फलं जायते दानं तथा मन्त्रविवर्जितम्

Transliteration

bhasmahutaṃ pārtha yathā toyavivarjitam | niṣphalaṃ jāyate dānaṃ tathā mantravivarjitam

Translation

Ô Pārtha, de même qu’une offrande de cendre, privée d’eau, devient vaine, de même le dāna (don sacré) est sans fruit lorsqu’il est dépourvu de mantra.

Word by Word

• bhasma-hutam: offered into ashes (i.e., oblation into ash)
• bhasma-hutam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhasma (प्रातिपदिक) + huta (कृदन्त; √hu/हु "to offer" + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) विशेषण

• pārtha: O son of Pṛthā (O Pārtha)
• pārtha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/तुलना-बोधक अव्यय (comparative particle)

• toya-vivarjitam: devoid of water
• toya-vivarjitam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: toya (प्रातिपदिक) + vivarjita (कृदन्त; √vṛj/वृज् "to avoid, exclude" + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त विशेषण

• niṣphalam: fruitless
• niṣphalam: Predicative complement (Viśeṣaṇa of result/फलविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niṣphala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण

• jāyate: arises/becomes
• jāyate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• dānam: a gift/charity
• dānam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• tathā: so/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Correlative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तदनुरूप/एवमेव-बोधक (correlative adverb)

• mantra-vivarjitam: devoid of mantra
• mantra-vivarjitam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक) + vivarjita (कृदन्त; √vṛj/वृज् + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त विशेषण (dānam इत्यस्य)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; vocative suggests a dialogic address preserved in narration)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: a sage instructs a devotee; beside them, a ritual fire with an offering of ash shown as ineffective, contrasted with a proper libation with water and mantra; a donor offers gifts with a mantra-scroll or rosary indicating consecration.

Characters & Entities

• Pārtha
• Dāna
• Mantra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity is sanctified and made efficacious through mantra; otherwise it is compared to a defective offering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader teaching is embedded in the Revā Khaṇḍa’s Narmadā tīrtha narrative, though the point applies universally.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform dāna with mantra (and proper sanctifying procedure), not as a mantra-less act.