Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

व्रात्यता व्रतसंत्यागः सर्वाहारनिषेवणम् । असच्छास्त्राभिगमनं शुष्कतर्काव लंबनम्

Transliteration

vrātyatā vratasaṃtyāgaḥ sarvāhāraniṣevaṇam | asacchāstrābhigamanaṃ śuṣkatarkāva laṃbanam

Translation

ヴェーダの規律を離れて外道のごとく生きること、聖なる誓戒（ヴラタ）を捨てること、あらゆる食を無分別に口にすること、偽りの経典に依りすがること、そして実りなき乾いた詭弁に執着すること—これらは不浄の生き方として断罪される。

Word by Word

• vrātyatā: being a vrātya (non-vedic/outcaste conduct)
• vrātyatā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrātyatā (प्रातिपदिक; तद्धित -तल्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• vrata: vow, observance
• vrata: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, (समासपूर्वपद)

• saṃtyāgaḥ: abandonment of vows
• saṃtyāgaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃtyāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; व्रतस्य संत्यागः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• sarva: all
• sarva: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनामविशेषण, (समासपूर्वपद)

• āhāra: food
• āhāra: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, (समासपूर्वपद)

• niṣevaṇam: consumption of all kinds of food
• niṣevaṇam: Karta/Karma (Subject or object in list/कर्ता/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niṣevaṇa (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √sev (धातु) + ni + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वाहारस्य निषेवणम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; बहुपदसमास)

• asat: false, improper
• asat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: asat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/विशेषण, (समासपूर्वपद)

• śāstra: treatise, doctrine
• śāstra: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāstra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, (समासपूर्वपद)

• abhigamanam: resorting to false doctrines
• abhigamanam: Karta/Karma (Subject or object in list/कर्ता/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhigamana (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √gam (धातु) + abhi + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; असच्छास्त्रस्य अभिगमनम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; बहुपदसमास)

• śuṣka: dry, barren
• śuṣka: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuṣka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/विशेषण, (समासपूर्वपद)

• tarka: logic, argument
• tarka: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tarka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, (समासपूर्वपद)

• avalambanam: reliance on dry logic
• avalambanam: Karta/Karma (Subject or object in list/कर्ता/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avalambana (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √lamb (धातु) + ava + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; शुष्कतर्कस्य अवलम्बनम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; बहुपदसमास)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at a crossroads chooses a path marked ‘śāstra’ and ‘vrata’ while turning away from a gaudy path labeled ‘asacchāstra’ and ‘śuṣka-tarka’; a simple meal and vow-thread symbolize discipline; a temple silhouette beckons ahead.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is sustained by vows, discernment, and right teaching; abandoning them leads to impurity and spiritual decline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it lays general ethical foundations used throughout Skanda Purāṇa’s māhātmya sections.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies preserving vratas and rejecting adharma; no specific dāna/snānā/japa is prescribed in this line.