Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

सत्यं ब्रूयात्प्रियं ब्रूयान्नब्रूयात्सत्यमप्रियम् । प्रियं च नानृतं ब्रूयादेष धर्मो घटोद्भव

Transliteration

satyaṃ brūyātpriyaṃ brūyānnabrūyātsatyamapriyam | priyaṃ ca nānṛtaṃ brūyādeṣa dharmo ghaṭodbhava

Translation

सत्य बोलावे, प्रिय वचन बोलावे; अप्रिय सत्य बोलू नये. आणि प्रिय वाटले तरी असत्य बोलू नये—हे घटोद्भवा! हाच धर्म आहे.

Word by Word

• satyam: truth
• satyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: satya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया) एकवचनम्; “truth” (object of brūyāt)

• brūyāt: should speak
• brūyāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √brū (ब्रू धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्; “should speak”

• priyam: what is pleasant
• priyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया) एकवचनम्; “what is pleasing”

• brūyāt: should speak
• brūyāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √brū (ब्रू धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्ययम्

• brūyāt: should speak
• brūyāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √brū (ब्रू धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्

• satyam: truth
• satyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: satya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्; object

• apriyam: unpleasant
• apriyam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (satyam) “unpleasant”

• priyam: what is pleasant
• priyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्

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

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्ययम्

• anṛtam: falsehood
• anṛtam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्; “falsehood/untruth”

• brūyāt: should speak
• brūyāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √brū (ब्रू धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्

• eṣaḥ: this
• eṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (एतद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा) एकवचनम्; demonstrative “this”

• dharmaḥ: dharma/duty
• dharmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; “duty/law”

• ghaṭa-udbhava: O pot-born one
• ghaṭa-udbhava: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghaṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन) एकवचनम्; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः “born from a pot” (epithet); vocative address

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ghaṭodbhava (Agastya) addressed in the verse

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher addresses a pilgrim assembly in a Kāśī courtyard; two speech-paths are shown symbolically—one harsh and thorny, one truthful and flowered—indicating the dharmic middle: satya with priya.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma in speech balances truth with compassion: avoid cruelty in the name of truth and avoid deceit in the name of sweetness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The dialogue belongs to Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where dharma is taught in the spiritual atmosphere of Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it gives a behavioral vow-like discipline regarding truthful and beneficial speech.