Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

पितृमातृपरित्यागी भ्रातुर्भार्याभिलाषकृत् । पुत्रविक्रयकृत्पापश्छलकृद्गुरुणा सह

Transliteration

pitṛmātṛparityāgī bhrāturbhāryābhilāṣakṛt | putravikrayakṛtpāpaśchalakṛdguruṇā saha

Translation

C’était un homme qui avait abandonné père et mère, convoité l’épouse de son frère, commis le péché de vendre son fils, et pratiqué la tromperie, même envers son propre maître.

Word by Word

• पितृमातृपरित्यागी: one who abandons father and mother
• पितृमातृपरित्यागी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + मातृ (प्रातिपदिक) + परित्यागिन् (प्रातिपदिक; √त्यज् + परि, णिनि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (पितरौ मातरं च परित्यजति इति)

• भ्रातुः: of (his) brother
• भ्रातुः: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भ्रातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (of the brother)

• भार्या-अभिलाषकृत्: one who desires (his brother’s) wife
• भार्या-अभिलाषकृत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भार्या (प्रातिपदिक) + अभिलाष (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत् (प्रातिपदिक; √कृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (भार्यायाः अभिलाषं करोति)

• पुत्रविक्रयकृत्: one who sells his son
• पुत्रविक्रयकृत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + विक्रय (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत् (प्रातिपदिक; √कृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (पुत्रस्य विक्रयं करोति)

• पापः: sinful
• पापः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (sinful)

• छलकृत्: a deceiver
• छलकृत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छल (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत् (प्रातिपदिक; √कृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (छलं करोति)

• गुरुणा: with (his) teacher
• गुरुणा: Sahakaraka (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; सह-योगे करण/सहकारि (with the teacher)

• सह: together with
• सह: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सहार्थक-उपसर्गसदृश (with)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (narrating Jābāli’s account)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Tilāda (contextual, as the purification site for this sinner)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (nṛpa) in the frame story

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A troubled brāhmaṇa (Jābāli) is shown in a sequence-like tableau: turning away from aged parents, casting covetous glance toward brother’s wife, bargaining away a child, and speaking deceitfully before a guru—each vignette shadowed, conveying moral darkness.

Characters & Entities

• Jābāli

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Grave ethical violations—toward parents, family, and guru—are highlighted to show the seriousness of adharma and the need for purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Tilāda Tīrtha is the setting for a purification narrative, introduced just before this description of sins.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription in this verse; it enumerates the sins that set up the need for expiation at the tīrtha.