Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 161

Devanagari script

कीर्तनान्नश्यते धर्मो वर्धतेऽसौ निगूहनात् । इह लोके परे चैव पापस्याप्येवमेव च

Transliteration

kīrtanānnaśyate dharmo vardhate'sau nigūhanāt | iha loke pare caiva pāpasyāpyevameva ca

Translation

เมื่อกล่าวสรรเสริญหรือบอกเล่า ธรรมะมิได้เสื่อมสูญ กลับยิ่งเพิ่มพูนด้วยการปกปิด และทั้งในโลกนี้กับโลกหน้า เรื่องบาปก็เป็นเช่นเดียวกัน

Word by Word

• kīrtanāt: from/through proclamation (telling)
• kīrtanāt: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kīrtana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/ablative), एकवचन; हेतौ (cause)

• naśyate: perishes/is destroyed
• naśyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: naś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• dharmaḥ: dharma/righteousness
• dharmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vardhate: increases/grows
• vardhate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛdh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• asau: that (it)
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• nigūhanāt: from concealment
• nigūhanāt: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nigūhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (ablative), एकवचन; हेतौ (cause)

• iha: here
• iha: Desha-adhikarana (Locative sense/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (adverb of place)

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (locative), एकवचन

• pare: in the other (world)
• pare: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (locative), एकवचन; loka इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Avadharana (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण (emphasis particle)

• pāpasya: of sin
• pāpasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि (also/even)

• evam: thus
• evam: Prakara (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Avadharana (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण (emphasis)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

Speaker

Govinda’s wife (quoting a śāstric maxim attributed to maharṣis)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (Narmadā tīrthas)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic moment: a speaker states a moral axiom—dharma is strengthened by being spoken; sin is strengthened by concealment—set against a tīrtha backdrop suggesting purification through truth.

Characters & Entities

• dharma
• pāpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Truthful disclosure supports dharma and prevents the swelling of wrongdoing; concealment makes both merit and sin ‘grow’ in their respective consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Though a general dharma maxim, it is taught within the Revā Khaṇḍa setting that exalts Revā tīrthas as places for purification and expiation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit prescription: confess and do not conceal pāpa—preparing the ground for prāyaścitta, often performed with tīrtha-snān and related vows.