Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 93

Devanagari script

बहुभ्यो न प्रदेयानि गौर्गृहं शयनं स्त्रियः । विभक्तदक्षिणा ह्येता दातारं नाप्नुवन्ति च

Transliteration

bahubhyo na pradeyāni gaurgṛhaṃ śayanaṃ striyaḥ | vibhaktadakṣiṇā hyetā dātāraṃ nāpnuvanti ca

Translation

ഗോ, ഗൃഹം, ശയനം, സ്ത്രീ—ഇവയെ പലർക്കും ദാനമായി നൽകരുത്. കാരണം ‘ദക്ഷിണ’യായി വിഭജിച്ച് നൽകിയാൽ, ആ ദാനങ്ങൾ ദാതാവിലേക്കു (പുണ്യലാഭമായി) യഥാർത്ഥത്തിൽ എത്തുകയില്ല।

Word by Word

• bahubhyaḥ: to many (persons)
• bahubhyaḥ: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (4th/Dative), बहुवचन; विशेषण-रूपेण (बहुभ्यः जनैः/व्यक्तिभ्यः)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्ययम् (negation)

• pradeyāni: should be given
• pradeyāni: Kriya (Obligation predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-dā (धातु) + ya (यत्/तव्यत्-भावे)
• Form: विधेय-विशेषणरूप कृदन्तः (gerundive/तव्यत्-अर्थ: 'to be given'), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; उपसर्गः प्र

• gauḥ: a cow
• gauḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• gṛham: a house
• gṛham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• śayanam: a bed
• śayanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• striyaḥ: women
• striyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• vibhakta-dakṣiṇāḥ: divided fees/gifts (distributed as separate shares)
• vibhakta-dakṣiṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vibhakta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √bhaj with vi-) + dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (विभक्ताः दक्षिणाः)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्ययम् (particle; emphasis)

• etāḥ: these
• etāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• dātāram: the giver
• dātāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्ययम् (negation)

• āpnuvanti: reach/benefit/attain
• āpnuvanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

Speaker

Sūta (or the text’s narrator) delivering dāna-dharma instruction (contextual deduction)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor preparing gifts: a cow with garland, a symbolic house deed/keys, a bed with linens, and a cautionary scene of multiple claimants; a dharma-śāstra teacher advises single-recipient giving.

Characters & Entities

• Gau (cow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity must be ethically and properly structured; certain gifts are meant to be given as a whole to preserve their dharmic efficacy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is praised in this verse; it is a general rule of dāna-dharma within the Revā Khaṇḍa discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do not divide and distribute these specific gifts among multiple recipients; give them as a single, complete dāna.