Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

त्यज मूलमनर्थस्य लोभमेनं द्विजोत्तम । इत्युक्त्वा स्वर्ययौ राजा स्वर्गकन्यासमावृतः

Transliteration

tyaja mūlamanarthasya lobhamenaṃ dvijottama | ityuktvā svaryayau rājā svargakanyāsamāvṛtaḥ

Translation

ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമാ, ഈ ലോഭം ഉപേക്ഷിക്ക; ഇതുതന്നെ അനർത്ഥത്തിന്റെ മൂലമാണ്. എന്നു പറഞ്ഞ് രാജാവ് സ്വർഗത്തിലേക്ക് പോയി, സ്വർഗകന്യകളാൽ ചുറ്റപ്പെട്ടവനായി.

Word by Word

• त्यज: abandon
• त्यज: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• मूलम्: root/cause
• मूलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अनर्थस्य: of misfortune/harm
• अनर्थस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• लोभम्: greed
• लोभम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• एनम्: this (one)
• एनम्: Karma (Object apposition/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद्/इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• द्विजोत्तम: O best of twice-born
• द्विजोत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-प्रायः/तत्पुरुषः (द्विजः उत्तमः)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण-निपात (quotative particle)

• उक्त्वा: having said
• उक्त्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वच् (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable)

• स्वः: heaven
• स्वः: Gati/Goal (Destination)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्/स्वः (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — समासाङ्ग (compound member)

• ययौ: went
• ययौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• राजा: the king
• राजा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्वर्गकन्या: by/with heavenly maidens
• स्वर्गकन्या: Karana/Association (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ग + कन्या (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — समासाङ्ग (compound member); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (स्वर्गस्य कन्याः)

• समावृतः: surrounded/encircled
• समावृतः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-वृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (to राजा)

Speaker

King Śatabāhu (quoted within Mārkaṇḍeya’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hanūmanteśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The brāhmaṇa (addressed as 'dvijottama')

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śatabāhu, calm and resolute, instructs the brāhmaṇa to abandon greed; immediately after, the king rises skyward in a radiant vimāna-like ascent, surrounded by apsarases, while the shrine and riverbank glow below.

Characters & Entities

• Śatabāhu
• Dvijottama (brāhmaṇa)
• Svarga
• Svargakanyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Greed (lobha) is portrayed as the root of downfall; renouncing it safeguards both worldly and spiritual welfare.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly, the Revā tīrtha setting is upheld as a place where moral instruction and purification narratives unfold.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual here; it is an ethical injunction (lobha-tyāga) embedded in the tīrtha narrative.