Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

कन्याभिदूषकश्चैव दानं दत्त्वा तु तापकः । शूद्रस्तु कपिलापानी ब्राह्मणो मांसभोजनी

Transliteration

kanyābhidūṣakaścaiva dānaṃ dattvā tu tāpakaḥ | śūdrastu kapilāpānī brāhmaṇo māṃsabhojanī

Translation

Même celui qui a souillé la chasteté d’une jeune fille, et celui qui a causé tourment—après avoir offert le dāna prescrit—trouve apaisement. De même, le śūdra adonné à la liqueur kapilā et le brāhmaṇa vivant de chair: par ce dāna ils sont purifiés.

Word by Word

• कन्या-अभिदूषकः: defiler of a maiden
• कन्या-अभिदूषकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्या (प्रातिपदिक) + अभिदूषक (प्रातिपदिक; √दूष् (धातु) + अभि + ण्वुल्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कन्यां अभिदूषयति इति)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphasis)

• दानम्: gift/charity
• दानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• दत्त्वा: having given
• दत्त्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘having given’

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• तापकः: tormentor/one who causes suffering
• तापकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तापक (प्रातिपदिक; √तप् (धातु) + ण्वुल्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• शूद्रः: a Śūdra
• शूद्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तु: and/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विशेषणार्थक-निपात (particle)

• कपिला-पानी: drinker of kapilā (a kind of liquor)
• कपिला-पानी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपिला (प्रातिपदिक) + पानी (प्रातिपदिक; पानिन्-प्रत्ययान्त, ‘drinker’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कपिलां पिबति इति)

• ब्राह्मणः: a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• मांस-भोजनी: eater of meat
• मांस-भोजनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मांस (प्रातिपदिक) + भोजनी (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √भुज् (धातु) + णिनी)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (मांसस्य भोजनी)

Speaker

Unspecified (Revākhaṇḍa dialogue context; a Purāṇic narrator instructing a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A redemptive scene: the offender offers a prescribed gift to a worthy recipient near the river; the sage assures purification; symbolic items indicate intoxicant and meat being renounced.

Characters & Entities

• nṛpa (king)
• brāhmaṇa
• śūdra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma emphasizes that sincere, properly performed dāna can function as prāyaścitta, leading to purification even for grave wrongdoing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger context is Revākhaṇḍa (Narmadā/Revā region), where merit-making acts are taught in connection with sacred geography and rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Giving the prescribed dāna (expanded in the following verses as Vaitaraṇī-dhenu-dāna) as an expiatory act.