Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

इह मानुष्यतां प्राप्य पङ्ग्वन्धबधिरा नराः । गवार्थे ब्राह्मणार्थे च ह्यनृतं वदतामिह

Transliteration

iha mānuṣyatāṃ prāpya paṅgvandhabadhirā narāḥ | gavārthe brāhmaṇārthe ca hyanṛtaṃ vadatāmiha

Translation

Ici, même après avoir obtenu une naissance humaine, les hommes deviennent boiteux, aveugles et sourds : ceux qui, en ce monde, profèrent le mensonge pour le bétail ou pour les brāhmaṇa.

Word by Word

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• mānuṣyatām: human state
• mānuṣyatām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānuṣyatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; ‘human state/condition’

• prāpya: having attained
• prāpya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √prāp (धातु; प्र + √āp)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); ‘having attained’

• paṅgu-andha-badhirāḥ: lame, blind, and deaf
• paṅgu-andha-badhirāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paṅgu + andha + badhira (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (समाहार/इतरेतर; त्रयाणां विशेषणानां समुच्चयः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; ‘lame, blind, and deaf’ इति नरान् विशेषयति

• narāḥ: men
• narāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• gavārthe: for the sake of a cow
• gavārthe: Nimitta/Hetu (Purpose/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go + artha (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘gavasya arthaḥ’); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; हेतौ/विषये (for the sake of)

• brāhmaṇārthe: for the sake of a Brahmin
• brāhmaṇārthe: Nimitta/Hetu (Purpose/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa + artha (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘brāhmaṇasya arthaḥ’); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; हेतौ/विषये

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle; emphasis/indeed)

• anṛtam: falsehood
• anṛtam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• vadatām: of those who speak
• vadatām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vad (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्यय; ‘vadat’), षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; ‘of those who speak’

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय

Speaker

Deductive: Skanda (Kārttikeya) narrating within Āvantya Khaṇḍa’s Reva Khaṇḍa frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moral allegory: a person giving false testimony over cows or Brahmin dues; the karmic result shown as a later-life figure who is lame, blind, and deaf—contrasting courtroom/assembly with the suffering rebirth.

Characters & Entities

• Go (cow/cattle)
• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Truthfulness is central to dharma; deceit in sensitive sacred-social domains (cows and Brahmin-related matters) ripens into bodily impairment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named; the verse is ethical instruction within the Reva Khaṇḍa’s Revā sacred-geography narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the implied prescription is satya (truth) and careful speech in dharmic/legal and sacred matters.