Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

इष्टो गोत्रजनः कश्चिल्लोभेनावृतमानसः । न च द्वैधं परित्यज्य ह्येकं सत्यं भविष्यति

Transliteration

iṣṭo gotrajanaḥ kaścillobhenāvṛtamānasaḥ | na ca dvaidhaṃ parityajya hyekaṃ satyaṃ bhaviṣyati

Translation

«Même un parent chéri, l’esprit voilé par l’avidité, se dressera. Et sans renoncer à la duplicité, une unique vérité stable ne pourra advenir».

Word by Word

• इष्टः: dear/beloved
• इष्टः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इष् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘गोत्रजनः’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• गोत्रजनः: a kinsman (of the lineage)
• गोत्रजनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (गोत्रस्य जनः)

• कश्चित्: someone
• कश्चित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• लोभेन: by greed
• लोभेन: Karana (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• आवृतमानसः: one whose mind is covered/obscured
• आवृतमानसः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-वृ (धातु) + मानस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारयार्थः—‘आवृतं मानसं यस्य सः’ (bahuvrīhi sense in usage)

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात

• द्वैधम्: duplicity/double-mindedness
• द्वैधम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वैध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• परित्यज्य: having abandoned
• परित्यज्य: Kriya (Adverbial action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), कारण/निश्चयार्थ

• एकम्: one/single
• एकम्: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘सत्यम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• सत्यम्: truth
• सत्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• भविष्यति: will be/come to be
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Lakṣmī (Ramā Devī) (deduced from context 28–29)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A close, intimate scene: a once-beloved kinsman stands with shadowed face and grasping hands, while two paths diverge—one labeled duplicity, the other single truth—Devī’s gaze urging the abandonment of the former.

Characters & Entities

• Lakṣmī
• Gotra (clan)
• Lobha (greed)
• Satya (truth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Greed breeds duplicity even among loved ones; truth becomes possible only when inner double-mindedness is renounced.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None explicitly; the verse belongs to the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative frame associated with the Narmadā’s sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the focus is on moral conduct—truthfulness and freedom from greed.