Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 67

Devanagari script

अपराबाधमक्लेशं स्वयत्नेनार्जितं धनम् । स्वल्पं वा विपुलं वापि देयमित्यभिधीयते

Transliteration

aparābādhamakleśaṃ svayatnenārjitaṃ dhanam | svalpaṃ vā vipulaṃ vāpi deyamityabhidhīyate

Translation

他を害さず、過酷な苦役にもよらず、自らの努力で得た財は、少なかろうと多かろうと、施すにふさわしいと宣言される。

Word by Word

• aparābādham: non-injurious (to others)
• aparābādham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-parābādha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; adjective ‘without causing harm/obstruction to others’

• akleśam: without hardship
• akleśam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-kleśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; adjective ‘without hardship’

• sva-yatnena: by one’s own effort
• sva-yatnena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + yatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: ‘one’s own effort’); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; Instrumental ‘by one’s own effort’

• arjitam: earned, acquired
• arjitam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: arj (धातु) → arjita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘earned/acquired’ qualifying dhanam

• dhanam: wealth, money
• dhanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; object of ‘is said to be given’

• svalpam: small
• svalpam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘small’

• vā: or
• vā: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive ‘or’)

• vipulam: large, abundant
• vipulam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vipula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘abundant, large’

• vā: or
• vā: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (or)

• api: also/even
• api: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-कार (emphatic/also)

• deyam: to be given
• deyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dā (धातु) → deya (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भाव्य/कर्तव्यतार्थक कृदन्त (यत्/अनीयर्-समर्थ ‘deya’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘to be given’ (predicative)

• iti: thus
• iti: Vacana-marker (वचनचिह्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरणसूचक

• abhidhīyate: is declared
• abhidhīyate: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-dhā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि (passive) ‘is stated/declared’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A householder offers modest but cleanly earned wealth—grain, cloth, or coins—to a worthy recipient; in the background, scenes contrast ethical labor with avoidance of harm (no weapons, no coercion).

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The purity of charity begins with the purity of earning—non-harming, honest effort makes wealth fit for sacred giving.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is referenced; this is a general dharma teaching on ethical dāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It prescribes donating wealth that is ethically acquired, regardless of quantity.