Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

कुनखी वृषली स्तेयी वार्द्धुष्यः कुण्डगोलकौ । महादानरतो यश्च यश्चात्महनने रतः

Transliteration

kunakhī vṛṣalī steyī vārddhuṣyaḥ kuṇḍagolakau | mahādānarato yaśca yaścātmahanane rataḥ

Translation

ผู้มีเล็บพิการ; วฤษลี (สตรีผู้ประพฤติเสื่อม); โจร; ผู้กินดอกเบี้ย; ผู้เป็นกุณฑะและโกลกะ (ผู้มีชาติกำเนิดผิดระเบียบ); ผู้หลงใหลการให้ทานใหญ่เพื่อโอ้อวด; และผู้มุ่งทำลายตนเอง—เหล่านี้ก็นับว่าไม่สมควรเช่นกัน

Word by Word

• कुनखी: one with bad nails (diseased/unclean)
• कुनखी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुनखी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वृषली: a low-caste woman
• वृषली: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्तेयी: a thief
• स्तेयी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्तेयी (प्रातिपदिक; from स्तेय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वार्द्धुष्यः: one afflicted with vārddhuṣya (a disease/defect)
• वार्द्धुष्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वार्द्धुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कुण्डगोलकौ: the kuṇḍa and the golaka (two types of sons)
• कुण्डगोलकौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + गोलक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (कुण्डः च गोलकः च)

• महादानरतः: one devoted to great gifts
• महादानरतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक) + रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (महादाने रतः)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचकः

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचकः

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• आत्महनने: in self-killing (suicide)
• आत्महनने: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + हनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (आत्मनः हनने)

• रतः: devoted/engaged
• रतः: Pradhana-predicative (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic enumeration: the sage gestures as if counting categories; behind him appear small vignettes symbolizing each ‘unfit’ type—thief, usurer, illicit-birth categories, and a person making ostentatious gifts—contrasted with the calm riverbank of a tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara
• kuṇḍa
• golaka
• mahādāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

External religiosity (even ‘great charity’) cannot substitute for dharmic integrity; eligibility is grounded in conduct and purity norms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It continues the disqualification list relevant to selecting proper recipients/participants in rites like śrāddha and acts of dāna.