Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

गद्गदोऽनृतवादी स्यान्मूकश्चैव गवानृते । ब्रह्महा जायते कुष्ठी श्यावदन्तस्तु मद्यपः

Transliteration

gadgado'nṛtavādī syānmūkaścaiva gavānṛte | brahmahā jāyate kuṣṭhī śyāvadantastu madyapaḥ

Translation

അസത്യം പറയുന്നവൻ തട്ടിത്തടഞ്ഞ് സംസാരിക്കുന്നവനാകും; പശുവിനെക്കുറിച്ച് കള്ളം പറഞ്ഞാൽ മൂകനാകും. ബ്രാഹ്മണഹന്തകൻ കുഷ്ഠരോഗിയായി ജനിക്കും; മദ്യപന്റെ പല്ലുകൾ കറുത്തുപോകും.

Word by Word

• गद्गदः: stammering
• गद्गदः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गद्गद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अनृतवादी: a liar
• अनृतवादी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनृतवादिन् (प्रातिपदिक) = अनृत (प्रातिपदिक) + वादिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (अनृतं वदति इति)

• स्यात्: would become
• स्यात्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मूकः: mute person
• मूकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• गवानृते: in/for falsehood about cows
• गवानृते: Hetu/Adhikaraṇa (Cause-context/हेतु-अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गवानृत (प्रातिपदिक) = गो (प्रातिपदिक) + अनृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (गवां विषये अनृतम्)

• ब्रह्महा: slayer of a Brahmin
• ब्रह्महा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्महन् (प्रातिपदिक) = ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + हन् (धातु-आधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मणः हन्ता)

• जायते: is born/becomes
• जायते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• कुष्ठी: a leper
• कुष्ठी: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुष्ठिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• श्यावदन्तः: one with dark teeth
• श्यावदन्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्यावदन्त (प्रातिपदिक) = श्याव (प्रातिपदिक) + दन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (श्यावा दन्ताः यस्य)

• तु: but/and
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• मद्यपः: drunkard
• मद्यपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मद्यप (प्रातिपदिक) = मद्य (प्रातिपदिक) + प (पा-धातु-आधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (मद्यं पिबति)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced: Āvantya Khaṇḍa narrative style; Revā Khaṇḍa discourse on dharma/karmavipāka)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Didactic tableau showing four vignettes: a liar stammering, a cow-related liar struck mute, a brahmaṇa-slayer afflicted with leprosy, and a drunkard with darkened teeth—arranged as moral exempla around the teaching sage.

Characters & Entities

• brāhmaṇa
• go (cow)
• madya (intoxicant)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Truthfulness—especially regarding sacred beings like cows and brāhmaṇas—is presented as a core dharma; violations ripen into embodied suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse functions as dharma-śikṣā within the Revā Khaṇḍa rather than directly praising a single named tīrtha in the snippet.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse warns of karmic results of falsehood, brahmahatyā, and drinking.