Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

यस्येदृशः कामचारो मय्यपि द्विजपांसन । अहं ते पश्यतस्तस्मान्नयामि सुरभिं गृहात्

Transliteration

yasyedṛśaḥ kāmacāro mayyapi dvijapāṃsana | ahaṃ te paśyatastasmānnayāmi surabhiṃ gṛhāt

Translation

«Se tal proceder voluntarioso se mostra até para comigo, ó brāhmaṇa vil, então, enquanto tu olhas, levarei Surabhī de tua casa.»

Word by Word

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• īdṛśaḥ: such
• īdṛśaḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īdṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण

• kāma-cāraḥ: arbitrary conduct / acting at will
• kāma-cāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + cāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (determinative: ‘acting as one wishes’)

• mayi: in/against me
• mayi: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• api: even, also
• api: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावन/अपि-कारक निपात (particle: also/even)

• dvija-pāṃsana: O vile brahmin
• dvija-pāṃsana: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + pāṃsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (determinative: ‘brahmin-wretch’)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• te: of you / your
• te: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• paśyataḥ: while you look on
• paśyataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paś (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present active participle), षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; ‘while (you are) seeing’

• tasmāt: from there / from that (place)
• tasmāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• nayāmi: I take away / lead
• nayāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √nī (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• surabhim: Surabhī (the cow)
• surabhim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surabhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; (कामधेनोः नाम)

• gṛhāt: from the house
• gṛhāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन

Speaker

Rājā (the king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha milieu

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Jamadagni (addressed insultingly)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king points toward the cow, ordering men to seize her; Surabhī stands near the hut; the sage is confronted amid a charged atmosphere.

Characters & Entities

• Surabhī (Kāmadhenū)
• Rājā (the king)
• Brāhmaṇa (Jamadagni)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Disrespect toward spiritual custodians and seizure of sacred property is a hallmark of adharma and invites ruin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode sits within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s Narmadā-region narrative setting rather than praising a single named tīrtha in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse depicts a violation of dharma (attempted seizure) rather than a rite.