Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

स्वदत्ता परदत्ता वा यत्नाद्रक्ष्या युधिष्ठिर । मही महीक्षिता नित्यं दानाच्छ्रेयोऽनुपालनम्

Transliteration

svadattā paradattā vā yatnādrakṣyā yudhiṣṭhira | mahī mahīkṣitā nityaṃ dānācchreyo'nupālanam

Translation

സ്വയം ദത്തമായാലും പരദത്തമായാലും—ആ ഭൂമിയെ യത്നപൂർവ്വം കാക്കണം, ഹേ യുധിഷ്ഠിര. രാജാക്കന്മാർക്കു നിത്യം ദാനത്തേക്കാൾ ശ്രേയസ്കരം ദാനത്തിന്റെ പാലന-സംരക്ഷണമാണ്.

Word by Word

• svadattā: self-given (land)
• svadattā: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva + datta (कृदन्त, √dā/दा दाने)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), विशेषण—“स्वयम् दत्ता” (given by oneself)

• paradattā: given by another
• paradattā: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para + datta (कृदन्त, √dā/दा दाने)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), विशेषण—“परैः दत्ता” (given by another)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक अव्यय (disjunctive particle: “or”)

• yatnāt: with effort
• yatnāt: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; “प्रयत्नात्” (from/with effort)

• rakṣyā: should be protected
• rakṣyā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √rakṣ (रक्ष् पालने)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद/परस्मैपद-प्रयोगानुसार—“रक्षेत/रक्ष्येत” अर्थे; विधेय—“should be protected”

• yudhiṣṭhira: O Yudhiṣṭhira
• yudhiṣṭhira: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yudhiṣṭhira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• mahī: land
• mahī: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; “भूमिः/पृथ्वी”

• mahīkṣitā: (land) possessed/ruled
• mahīkṣitā: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahī + kṣit (कृदन्त, √kṣi/क्षि निवासे/क्षये)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), विशेषण—“भूम्या क्षिता/अधिष्ठिता” (ruled/possessed as land)

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb)

• dānāt: than giving / from donation
• dānāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; “दानात्” (from giving/than giving)

• śreyaḥ: greater good/merit
• śreyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śreyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; “श्रेष्ठफलम्/कल्याणम्”

• anupālanam: proper protection/maintenance
• anupālanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anu + pālana (प्रातिपदिक; √pāl/पाल रक्षणे)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्रियानाम—“अनुपालनम्” (proper maintenance/protection)

Speaker

Vyāsa (explicit addressee: Yudhiṣṭhira)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic courtly moment: a dharma-teacher addressing Yudhiṣṭhira on the sanctity of land-grants; behind them, scribes, boundary markers, and a temple endowment scene symbolizing anupālana.

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is sustained by continuity: preserving sacred gifts is higher than giving once and neglecting thereafter.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a named tīrtha; the verse offers a universal rule relevant to endowments supporting temples and tīrthas across the Revā region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Anupālana: ongoing protection and maintenance of granted land as a royal and moral obligation.