Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

वापीकूपतडागानां भेत्तारो ये च पापिनः । उद्यानवाटिकानां च छेत्तारो ये च दुर्जनाः

Transliteration

vāpīkūpataḍāgānāṃ bhettāro ye ca pāpinaḥ | udyānavāṭikānāṃ ca chettāro ye ca durjanāḥ

Translation

കിണറുകളും പടിക്കിണറുകളും കുളങ്ങളും തകർത്തു നശിപ്പിക്കുന്ന പാപികൾ; കൂടാതെ ഉദ്യാനങ്ങളും വാട്ടികകളും വെട്ടിമാറ്റുന്ന ദുർജനങ്ങൾ।

Word by Word

• वापीकूपतडागानाम्: of wells, stepwells, and ponds
• वापीकूपतडागानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वापी-कूप-तडाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (vāpī, kūpa, taḍāga)

• भेत्तारः: breakers/destroyers
• भेत्तारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भिद् (धातु) → भेत्तृ (कृदन्त; तृच्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तृच्-प्रत्ययान्त कर्तरि (agent noun)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• पापिनः: sinful
• पापिनः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पापिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘भेत्तारः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• उद्यानवाटिकानाम्: of gardens and orchards/enclosures
• उद्यानवाटिकानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उद्यान-वाटिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (udyāna, vāṭikā)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• छेत्तारः: cutters/destroyers
• छेत्तारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छिद् (धातु) → छेत्तृ (कृदन्त; तृच्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तृच्-प्रत्ययान्त कर्तरि

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• दुर्जनाः: wicked people
• दुर्जनाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्जन (प्रातिपदिक; दुर् + जन)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘दुष्टाः जनाः’ इति कर्मधारयः

Speaker

Munis (continuation of the catalogue of offenders)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A village-tīrtha landscape: a stepwell (vāpī), a well (kūpa), and a pond (tadāga) near a grove; vandals break embankments and cut trees while pilgrims look on in distress; a sage points in admonition.

Characters & Entities

• Vāpī
• Kūpa
• Taḍāga
• Udyāna
• Vāṭikā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Harming shared resources—water bodies and gardens—violates dharma because it injures the community and the sacred landscape.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse supports the Revā Khaṇḍa’s broader sacred-geography ethic of preserving life-sustaining places.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this line; it is part of a moral catalogue of wrongdoing.