Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

अजविक्रयकृद्व्याधः कुण्डाशी भृतको भवेत् । नास्तिकस्तिल पिंडी स्यादश्रद्धो गीतजीवनः

Transliteration

ajavikrayakṛdvyādhaḥ kuṇḍāśī bhṛtako bhavet | nāstikastila piṃḍī syādaśraddho gītajīvanaḥ

Translation

คนขายแพะเป็นอาชีพและฆ่าเป็นนิจ ย่อมเกิดเป็นกุณฑาศีและเป็นคนรับจ้าง ผู้ไม่ศรัทธาในธรรมเป็นนาสติกย่อมเป็นติละปินฑี และผู้ไร้ศรัทธาย่อมมีชีวิตด้วยการขับร้องเพียงการแสดงไร้แก่นแท้

Word by Word

• अज-विक्रय-कृत्-व्याधः: a hunter who sells goats
• अज-विक्रय-कृत्-व्याधः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अज (प्रातिपदिक) + विक्रय (प्रातिपदिक) + कृ (धातु) (कृत्-प्रत्ययान्त) + व्याध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—बहु-तत्पुरुष-समासः (अजानां विक्रयं करोति इति) + व्याधः

• कुण्ड-आशी: one who eats from a bowl/pot
• कुण्ड-आशी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + आशिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (कुण्डे अश्नाति)

• भृतकः: a hireling/servant
• भृतकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भृतक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• नास्तिकः: an atheist
• नास्तिकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नास्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• तिल-पिण्डी: a ball/lump of sesame (sesame-cake)
• तिल-पिण्डी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक) + पिण्डी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (तिलानां पिण्डी)

• स्यात्: would be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• अश्रद्धः: faithless
• अश्रद्धः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-श्रद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक (श्रद्धा-रहितः)

• गीत-जीवनः: living by singing
• गीत-जीवनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गीत (प्रातिपदिक) + जीवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (गीतेन जीवनम्/गीतं जीवनं यस्य)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A marketplace scene: a hunter/butcher trading goats; karmic outcome shows him as a low-status dependent servant (bhṛtaka) and kuṇḍāśī (degraded eater). Another vignette: a nāstika shrinks into a pitiable tila-piṇḍī form. A faithless singer performs for coins, face hollow, music detached from devotion.

Characters & Entities

• vyādha
• nāstika

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Livelihood rooted in harm and a life devoid of śraddhā (faith) leads to degrading outcomes and spiritual diminishment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No holy site is named; the verse is about conduct (ācāra) and karmic result.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it implicitly praises non-violence and śraddhā as the basis of dharma.