Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

उत्तमं मध्यमं वापि कनीयः स्यात्कथं विभो । राजसं तामसं वापि निःश्रेयसमथापि वा

Transliteration

uttamaṃ madhyamaṃ vāpi kanīyaḥ syātkathaṃ vibho | rājasaṃ tāmasaṃ vāpi niḥśreyasamathāpi vā

Translation

Comment, ô Puissant Seigneur, cela est-il considéré comme supérieur, moyen ou inférieur ? Comment est-ce rājasa ou tāmasa — ou comment cela devient-il niḥśreyasa (conduisant au bien suprême) ?

Word by Word

• uttamam: best / excellent
• uttamam: Predicate/Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• madhyamam: middling / medium
• madhyamam: Predicate/Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madhyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• vā: or
• vā: Connector (विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-अव्यय (or)

• api: also / even
• api: Emphasis/Addition
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (also/even)

• kanīyaḥ: inferior / smaller
• kanīyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kanīyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तुलनात्मक-विशेषण (comparative)

• syāt: may be / would be
• syāt: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• katham: how
• katham: Adverbial (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (how)

• vibho: O mighty one
• vibho: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• rājasam: rajasic
• rājasam: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rājasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; गुण-विशेषण (of rajas)

• tāmasam: tamasic
• tāmasam: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāmasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; गुण-विशेषण (of tamas)

• vā: or
• vā: Connector (विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-अव्यय (or)

• api: also
• api: Emphasis/Addition
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (also/even)

• niḥśreyasam: supreme good / salvation
• niḥśreyasam: Qualifier/Predicate (विशेष्य/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niḥśreyasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भाववाचक-नाम (highest good)

• atha: and / then
• atha: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अनन्तर-अव्यय (and/then)

• api: also
• api: Emphasis/Addition
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (also/even)

• vā: or
• vā: Connector (विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-अव्यय (or)

Speaker

King Uttānapāda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha milieu

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The questioner asks for a taxonomy: what makes the act superior, middling, inferior; what makes it rājasa or tāmasa; and what makes it lead to niḥśreyasa—depicted as a didactic exchange with symbolic guṇa colors.

Characters & Entities

• Uttānapāda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Actions are ethically graded by motive and quality (guṇas); the same outward act can be inferior or liberative depending on intention and purity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tirtha is named; the focus is on dharmic evaluation within the Revā Khaṇḍa discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse requests criteria for classifying kanyā-dāna (and related acts) as uttama/madhyama/kanīya and as rājasa/tāmasa/niḥśreyasa.