Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

भृतकाध्यापकः क्लीबः कन्यादूष्यभिशस्तकः । एते विप्राः सदा त्याज्याः परिभाव्य प्रयत्नतः

Transliteration

bhṛtakādhyāpakaḥ klībaḥ kanyādūṣyabhiśastakaḥ | ete viprāḥ sadā tyājyāḥ paribhāvya prayatnataḥ

Translation

Le brāhmane qui enseigne contre salaire, le kḷība (impuissant, donc inapte aux devoirs prescrits) et celui qu’on accuse d’avoir souillé une jeune fille : de tels « vipras » doivent toujours être évités, après examen attentif et avec effort scrupuleux.

Word by Word

• भृतकाध्यापकः: a hired teacher
• भृतकाध्यापकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भृतक (प्रातिपदिक) + अध्यापक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (भृतकस्य अध्यापकः)

• क्लीबः: an impotent/eunuch
• क्लीबः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्लीब (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कन्यादूष्यभिशस्तकः: one accused of defiling a maiden
• कन्यादूष्यभिशस्तकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्या (प्रातिपदिक) + दूष्य (कृदन्त; √दूष् (धातु) + यत्) + अभिशस्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कन्यां दूष्य अभिशस्तकः/कन्यादूष्यत्वेन अभिशस्तः)

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• विप्राः: Brahmins
• विप्राः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: काल-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• त्याज्याः: to be abandoned/avoided
• त्याज्याः: Pradhana-predicative (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √त्यज् (धातु) + यत् (कृत्)
• Form: यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive/भाव्य); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• परिभाव्य: having considered
• परिभाव्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + √भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (परिभाव्य = विचार्य/परिगणय्य)

• प्रयत्नतः: with effort; carefully
• प्रयत्नतः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रयत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (context: instruction within Revā Khaṇḍa narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage warns a king: three symbolic figures appear—one teaching for wages with coins, one marked by incapacity for prescribed rites, and one shadowed by accusation of corrupting a maiden—while the righteous path is shown as a clear road to a river ghat.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity and śrāddha gain purity and merit when offered to morally qualified recipients; discernment is itself a dharmic duty.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is the Revā (Narmadā) sacred region in the Revā Khaṇḍa, though this verse focuses on dharma criteria rather than a single named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prescription of exclusion: certain disreputable or disqualified persons should not be selected for dāna/śrāddha rites.