Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

या भर्तारं परित्यज्य मिष्टमश्नाति केवलम् । ग्रामे सा सूकरी भूयाद्वल्गुली वाथ विङ्भुजा

Transliteration

yā bhartāraṃ parityajya miṣṭamaśnāti kevalam | grāme sā sūkarī bhūyādvalgulī vātha viṅbhujā

Translation

ഭർത്താവിനെ ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് തനിയെ മധുരപലഹാരങ്ങൾ കഴിക്കുന്നവൾ ഗ്രാമത്തിൽ പന്നിയായോ വവ്വാലായോ മലം തിന്നുന്ന ജീവിയായോ ജനിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• yā: she who
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• bhartāram: husband
• bhartāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhartṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• parityajya: having abandoned
• parityajya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-tyaj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having abandoned’

• miṣṭam: sweet food
• miṣṭam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: miṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• aśnāti: eats
• aśnāti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: aś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• kevalam: only, merely
• kevalam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kevala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• grāme: in the village
• grāme: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: grāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• sūkarī: a sow (female pig)
• sūkarī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūkarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• bhūyāt: would become
• bhūyāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• valgulī: a female jackal/fox (valgulī)
• valgulī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: valgulī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle ‘or’)

• atha: or else/and then
• atha: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अनन्तरार्थक (particle: ‘and/then’)

• viṅbhujā: a feces-eater (scavenger creature)
• viṅbhujā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṅ-bhujā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (viṅ = विट् ‘feces’ + bhujā ‘eater’)

Speaker

Unspecified (Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa narrative voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa conveying dharma-teaching)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moral tableau: a woman turning away from her husband and indulging in rich foods; in the background, symbolic rebirth forms—sow, lizard, and a low scavenger—appear as shadowy karmic outcomes, with Dharmāraṇya forest as setting.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It condemns abandonment and indulgent self-centered living, presenting karmic degradation as the result.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is specified; the verse is ethical instruction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it discourages indulgence and promotes disciplined living.