Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

यो हीदृशीं गां ददाति देवोद्देशेन मानवः । प्रत्युताधोगतिं याति क्लिश्यते च महेश्वरि

Transliteration

yo hīdṛśīṃ gāṃ dadāti devoddeśena mānavaḥ | pratyutādhogatiṃ yāti kliśyate ca maheśvari

Translation

Ngunit ang taong nag-aalay ng gayong bakang di-karapat-dapat sa ngalan ng isang diyos ay sa halip mapapasa sa mababang kalagayan at magdurusa, O Maheśvarī.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who (he who)
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• īdṛśīm: such (of this kind)
• īdṛśīm: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īdṛśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• gām: a cow
• gām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• dadāti: gives
• dadāti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धाातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• devoddeśena: with the stated purpose ‘for a deity’
• devoddeśena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + uddeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; देवस्य उद्देशः इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (purpose/mention of deity)

• mānavaḥ: a man
• mānavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• pratyuta: on the contrary
• pratyuta: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pratyuta (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (adversative/emphatic particle)

• adhogatim: a downward course/fall
• adhogatim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhas + gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; अधः-गति इति कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष (downward-going state)

• yāti: goes/attains
• yāti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• kliśyate: is afflicted/suffers
• kliśyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kliś (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• maheśvari: O Maheśvarī
• maheśvari: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśvarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Maheśvarī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark moral scene: a man offers an unfit cow ‘in the deity’s name’; the brāhmaṇa recoils; above, a shadowy descent motif (adhogati) contrasts with the temple’s sanctity; Pārvatī is addressed as witness.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśvarī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Invoking a deity’s name cannot sanctify an unethical act; improper giving brings suffering and decline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the text warns that wrong offerings corrupt the intended merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A warning: do not offer an unfit cow as a ‘deity-dedicated’ gift; it results in negative karmic fruit.