Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

श्वमांसमिच्छन्नर्तौ तु धर्मान्न च्ययते स्म सः । प्राणानां परिरक्षार्थं वामदेवो न लिप्तवान्

Transliteration

śvamāṃsamicchannartau tu dharmānna cyayate sma saḥ | prāṇānāṃ parirakṣārthaṃ vāmadevo na liptavān

Translation

แม้ในคราวทุพภิกขภัย เมื่อเขาปรารถนาเนื้อสุนัข เขาก็มิได้คลาดจากธรรมะ เพื่อคุ้มครองลมหายใจแห่งชีวิต วามเทวะมิได้มัวหมองด้วยบาป

Word by Word

• श्वमांसम्: dog-meat
• श्वमांसम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वन् + मांस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (dog’s flesh)

• इच्छन्: desiring
• इच्छन्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इष् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (he, desiring)

• ऋतौ: in a season/time (of distress)
• ऋतौ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• धर्मात्: from dharma
• धर्मात्: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/negator)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation)

• च्ययते: deviates/falls away
• च्ययते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: च्यै (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• स्म: indeed/then (marker)
• स्म: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्म (अव्यय)
• Form: स्म-निपात (past/continuative particle)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• प्राणानाम्: of lives/breaths
• प्राणानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन

• परिरक्षार्थम्: for the sake of protection
• परिरक्षार्थम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परि-रक्षा + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (for the purpose of protection)

• वामदेवः: Vāmadeva
• वामदेवः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वामदेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/negator)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation)

• लिप्तवान्: became tainted/was stained
• लिप्तवान्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लिप् (धातु)
• Form: क्तवतु-प्रत्यय (perfect participle used finitely), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतार्थे (has become tainted)

Speaker

Ṛṣis (concluding with the Vāmadeva precedent)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (as addressed in adjacent verse-context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A famine-stricken landscape; a sage identified with Vāmadeva stands composed, holding a small portion of meat only as last resort, while a subtle aura of purity surrounds him, indicating ‘alipta’ (unstained).

Characters & Entities

• Vāmadeva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When the aim is preservation of life in calamity, the person is not considered fallen from dharma or spiritually tainted.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, whose māhātmya teaches both sacred merit and realistic dharma for crises.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse reinforces the distress-ethics doctrine rather than prescribing a vrata or rite.