Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

म्लेच्छानामपि च म्लेच्छो दुर्निवार्यो ह्यचेतनः । एवं विलपमानानां स्त्रीणां तत्रैव भारत

Transliteration

mlecchānāmapi ca mleccho durnivāryo hyacetanaḥ | evaṃ vilapamānānāṃ strīṇāṃ tatraiva bhārata

Translation

म्लेच्छेष्वपि म्लेच्छ एव कश्चिदस्ति—अचेतनः दुर्निवार्यश्च। एवं तत्र स्त्रियः विलपन्त्यः, हे भारत, तस्थुः।

Word by Word

• म्लेच्छानाम्: of the mlecchas
• म्लेच्छानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: म्लेच्छ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-अर्थे ‘also/even’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• म्लेच्छः: a mleccha
• म्लेच्छः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: म्लेच्छ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• दुर्निवार्यः: hard to restrain
• दुर्निवार्यः: Karta-anvaya (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर् (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + निवार्य (कृदन्त; √वृ/√वृञ्? here from √वृ ‘to restrain/ward off’ in causative sense via ‘निवारयति’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कृदन्त-विशेषण, ‘निवार्य’ (gerundive/तव्यत्-अर्थ, -य) with नि-; दुर्-पूर्वक ‘hard to restrain’

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ ‘indeed/for’

• अचेतनः: senseless, unconscious
• अचेतनः: Karta-anvaya (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ- (नञ्) + चेतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नञ्-समास/नञ्-पूर्वक विशेषण ‘without sense’

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) ‘thus’

• विलपमानानाम्: of (those) wailing
• विलपमानानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + लप् (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त ‘wailing’; (स्त्रीणाम् इत्यस्य विशेषण)

• स्त्रीणाम्: of the women
• स्त्रीणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb) ‘there’

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle) ‘just/only’

• भारत: O Bhārata
• भारत: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa addressing a royal/epic-lineage listener as Bhārata)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata (Janamejaya/itihāsa-audience address)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A riverside settlement on the Revā; distressed women gathered, hair loosened, arms raised in lament, while a brutal, unthinking aggressor figure looms in the background; dusk tones and foreboding sky.

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata (addressee)
• Mleccha
• Strī (women)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unrestrained, mindless force is condemned; dharma requires restraint, discernment, and responsiveness to suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this transitional verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.