Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

शब्दादिसङ्गदुष्टानि यदा नाक्षाणि नः शुभाः । तदा नृत्यादयो भावाः कथं लोभप्रदायिनः

Transliteration

śabdādisaṅgaduṣṭāni yadā nākṣāṇi naḥ śubhāḥ | tadā nṛtyādayo bhāvāḥ kathaṃ lobhapradāyinaḥ

Translation

Lorsque nos sens ne sont pas de bon augure, souillés par le contact du son et des autres objets, comment des états tels que la danse et semblables spectacles pourraient-ils engendrer la convoitise ?

Word by Word

• शब्दादिसङ्गदुष्टानि: corrupted by association with sound etc.
• शब्दादिसङ्गदुष्टानि: Visheshana (Qualifier of ‘akṣāṇi’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शब्द-आदि-सङ्ग-दुष्ट (प्रातिपदिक; शब्द + आदि + सङ्ग + दुष्ट)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-प्राय (शब्दादिसङ्गेन दुष्टानि)

• यदा: when
• यदा: Sambandha (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (relative adverb: when)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negator)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation)

• अक्षाणि: the senses (organs)
• अक्षाणि: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन

• नः: our
• नः: Sambandha (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन; एन्क्लिटिक

• शुभाः: good/pure
• शुभाः: Visheshana (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; (अक्षाणि नपुंसक—अत्र लिङ्गव्यत्यय/पाठभेद सम्भवः; अर्थतः ‘शुभानि’)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Sambandha (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (then)

• नृत्यादयः: dance and the like
• नृत्यादयः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृत्य-आदि (प्रातिपदिक; नृत्य + आदि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (नृत्यं आदिः येषाम्)

• भावाः: states/activities
• भावाः: Apposition (To ‘nṛtyādayaḥ’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Sambandha (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक अव्यय (interrogative adverb: how)

• लोभप्रदायिनः: giving rise to greed
• लोभप्रदायिनः: Visheshana (Qualifier of ‘bhāvāḥ’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोभ-प्रदायिन् (प्रातिपदिक; लोभ + प्रदायिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (लोभं प्रददाति इति)

Speaker

Nārāyaṇa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kāma and apsarases (implicitly), with Mādhava present

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A reflective, almost syllogistic moment: the speaker points to the senses as the locus of corruption by sound etc.; dance and display are shown as mere stimuli that fail to produce greed when the senses are auspicious.

Characters & Entities

• Nārāyaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Craving arises only where the senses are undisciplined; purity of the senses makes temptations powerless.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None explicitly; it is a moral-psychological teaching within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the implied sādhana is indriya-nigraha (sense-restraint).