Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

शाकुन्तं रूपमास्थाय जलस्थो गगनं ययौ । पाखण्डिनो विकर्मस्थान् बिडालव्रतिकाञ्छठान्

Transliteration

śākuntaṃ rūpamāsthāya jalastho gaganaṃ yayau | pākhaṇḍino vikarmasthān biḍālavratikāñchaṭhān

Translation

Revêtant la forme d’un oiseau, bien qu’il fût dans l’eau, il s’envola vers le ciel. Tels sont les pakhāṇḍin, adonnés aux actes interdits : hypocrites du « vœu du chat » et trompeurs…

Word by Word

• शाकुन्तम्: bird-like
• शाकुन्तम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाकुन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (रूपम् इति विशेषणम्)

• रूपम्: form
• रूपम्: Karma (Object of ‘आस्थाय’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• आस्थाय: having assumed
• आस्थाय: Kriya-viseshana (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund)

• जलस्थः: standing in water
• जलस्थः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः: जले स्थितः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• गगनम्: the sky
• गगनम्: Karma (Goal as object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गगन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• ययौ: went
• ययौ: Kriya (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• पाखण्डिनः: hypocrites/heretics
• पाखण्डिनः: Karma (Object; list of targets)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाखण्डिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्

• विकर्म-स्थान्: engaged in wrongful acts
• विकर्म-स्थान्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विकर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः: विकर्मणि स्थितान्; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्

• बिडाल-व्रतिकान्: cat-vow practitioners (hypocritical ascetics)
• बिडाल-व्रतिकान्: Karma (Object; list of targets)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बिडाल (प्रातिपदिक) + व्रतिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः: बिडालस्येव व्रतं येषाम्/बिडालव्रतधारिणः; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordinator)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• शठान्: rogues/deceivers
• शठान्: Karma (Object; list of targets)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्

Speaker

King (implied continuation of denunciation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) river setting (contextual)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A deceptive ascetic transforms into a bird and rises into the sky even while positioned in water; the narrator denounces heretics and ‘cat-vow’ hypocrites—visual contrast between wondrous flight and moral condemnation.

Characters & Entities

• Pākhaṇḍins (religious pretenders)
• Biḍāla-vratika (cat-vow hypocrites)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma rejects pākhaṇḍa—spiritual fraud that performs ‘vows’ outwardly while practicing vikarma inwardly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the verse is ethical critique within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No true prescription; ‘biḍāla-vrata’ is cited as a symbol of hypocrisy, not a recommended practice.