Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

षष्टिवर्षसहस्राणि स्वर्गे तिष्ठति भूमिदः । आच्छेत्ता चावमन्ता च तान्येव नरके वसेत्

Transliteration

ṣaṣṭivarṣasahasrāṇi svarge tiṣṭhati bhūmidaḥ | ācchettā cāvamantā ca tānyeva narake vaset

Translation

ഭൂമി ദാനം ചെയ്യുന്നവൻ അറുപതിനായിരം വർഷം സ്വർഗത്തിൽ വസിക്കും; എന്നാൽ അത് കവർന്നെടുക്കുന്നവനും അതിനെ അവമാനിക്കുന്നവനും അതേ കാലം നരകത്തിൽ വസിക്കും.

Word by Word

• ṣaṣṭi-varṣa-sahasrāṇi: sixty thousand years
• ṣaṣṭi-varṣa-sahasrāṇi: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṣṭi + varṣa + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (काल-परिमाण), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समासः (संख्यापूर्वकः)

• svarge: in heaven
• svarge: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• tiṣṭhati: stays, remains
• tiṣṭhati: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• bhūmidaḥ: the giver of land
• bhūmidaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi + da (दा धातु से) (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘भूमिं ददाति’ इति (भूमिदः)

• ācchettā: the one who takes away/cuts off
• ācchettā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ā + chid (छिद् धातु)
• Form: तृ-प्रत्ययान्त (agent noun), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• avamantā: the one who insults/disrespects
• avamantā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ava + man (मन् धातु)
• Form: तृ-प्रत्ययान्त (agent noun), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात

• tāni: those (same years)
• tāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; काल-परिमाण (ṣaṣṭivarṣasahasrāṇi) पुनरुक्ति

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphasis particle)

• narake: in hell
• narake: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• vaset: would dwell
• vaset: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vas (वस् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Vyāsa (deduced: dharma instruction on land-grants, common in Purāṇic rāja-dharma)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra milieu (context for dāna ethics)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moral diptych: on one side a donor-king offering a land-grant copperplate to a Brāhmaṇa, ascending to svarga; on the other, a confiscator dragged toward a dark naraka realm—time marked as ‘60,000 years’.

Characters & Entities

• Bhūmidā (land-donor)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Land-gifts are sacred; protecting them yields great merit, while seizing or insulting them brings severe downfall.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a specific tīrtha; the verse supports dharma around sacred endowments often tied to temples and tīrtha-regions like the Revā belt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A clear rule: do not confiscate or dishonor land that has been granted as dāna.