Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

अन्यत्पृच्छामि देवेश कस्य कन्या न दीयते । दातव्यं कुत्र तद्देव कस्मै दत्तमथाक्षयम्

Transliteration

anyatpṛcchāmi deveśa kasya kanyā na dīyate | dātavyaṃ kutra taddeva kasmai dattamathākṣayam

Translation

హే దేవేశా! నేను మరొకటి అడుగుతున్నాను—ఎవరికి కన్యను ఇవ్వకూడదు? హే దేవా! ఎక్కడ ఇవ్వాలి, మరియు ఎవరికిచ్చినప్పుడు అది అక్షయ పుణ్యమవుతుంది?

Word by Word

• anyat: something else / another matter
• anyat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-शब्द (pronoun)

• pṛcchāmi: I ask
• pṛcchāmi: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prach (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• deveśa: O Lord of the gods
• deveśa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deveśa (प्रातिपदिक; deva+īśa)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (देवानाम् ईशः)

• kasya: of whom
• kasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• kanyā: a daughter / maiden
• kanyā: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• dīyate: is given
• dīyate: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive), आत्मनेपद

• dātavyam: to be given / should be given
• dātavyam: Predicate (Vidhi/विधि)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्यय (तव्यत्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (gerundive: ‘to be given’)

• kutra: where
• kutra: Adverbial (देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutra (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb of place)

• tat: that
• tat: Anaphoric (संदर्भ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• deva: O god / O lord
• deva: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kasmai: to whom
• kasmai: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• dattam: given
• dattam: Predicate/Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘given’

• atha: then / and
• atha: Discourse connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अनन्तर-अव्यय (then/and)

• akṣayam: imperishable / inexhaustible
• akṣayam: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नञ्-समास-निष्पन्न विशेषण (a-kṣaya)

Speaker

King Uttānapāda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha milieu

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A respectful questioner, hands folded, asks Īśvara about the ethics of giving a maiden in marriage—who is unfit, who is fit, and how the merit becomes imperishable; the setting evokes a sacred riverbank discourse.

Characters & Entities

• Uttānapāda
• Deveśa (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma demands discernment: the worthiness of recipient and the proper context determine whether merit becomes enduring (akṣaya).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tirtha is specified in this query; it remains within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s instructional narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It seeks rules for eligibility and ineligibility in kanyā-dāna and conditions for akṣaya (imperishable) merit.