Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

परार्थेऽपि च ये ब्रूयुस्तेषां गात्राणि कृत्स्नशः । अष्टमासिकदानेन तेषां मुक्तिः प्रजायते

Transliteration

parārthe'pi ca ye brūyusteṣāṃ gātrāṇi kṛtsnaśaḥ | aṣṭamāsikadānena teṣāṃ muktiḥ prajāyate

Translation

Et même ceux qui mentent pour le bien d'autrui, leurs membres sont entièrement affligés. Par le don du huitième mois, leur libération est obtenue.

Word by Word

• पर-अर्थे: in another’s matter; for others
• पर-अर्थे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘परस्य अर्थे’ = for another’s sake/matter)

• अपि: also; even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): ‘also/even’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक/conjunction)

• ये: those who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• ब्रूयुः: speak; would speak
• ब्रूयुः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• गात्राणि: limbs; bodies
• गात्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• कृत्स्नशः: entirely
• कृत्स्नशः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛtsnaśas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): ‘सम्पूर्णतया/entirely’

• अष्ट-मासिक-दानेन: by an eight-month donation/vow-gift
• अष्ट-मासिक-दानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + māsika (प्रातिपदिक) + dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; समासः (अष्टमासिकं दानम्) तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारयभावः; करणत्वे प्रयोगः

• तेषाम्: for them; of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• मुक्तिः: liberation; release
• मुक्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• प्रजायते: arises; is obtained
• प्रजायते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + jan (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moral tableau: a person speaking a lie on behalf of another; their body shown as afflicted/darkened; a parallel scene of sustained monthly offerings over eight months culminating in lightness/liberation.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Falsehood remains harmful even when justified as ‘for someone else’; dharma prioritizes truth, while prescribed charity offers a path of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it supports the chapter’s broader tīrtha-centered dharma teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Aṣṭamāsika-dāna—an eight-monthly charitable observance—is given as the means to obtain mukti (release) from the consequence described.