Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 99

Devanagari script

वनस्पतिगते सोमे मन्थानं योऽधिवाहयेत् । गावस्तस्य प्रणश्यन्ति याश्च वै पूर्वसंचिताः

Transliteration

vanaspatigate some manthānaṃ yo'dhivāhayet | gāvastasya praṇaśyanti yāśca vai pūrvasaṃcitāḥ

Translation

جب سوم نباتات میں موجود ہو، جو کوئی مَتھان (مکھن نکالنے کی لکڑی) چلائے، اس کی گائیں تباہ ہو جاتی ہیں—حتیٰ کہ وہ بھی جو پہلے سے جمع تھیں۔

Word by Word

• वनस्पतिगते: when (it is) in the trees
• वनस्पतिगते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वनस्पति + गत (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—वनस्पति-गत (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः)

• सोमे: in Soma (the Moon)
• सोमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• मन्थानम्: churning-stick
• मन्थानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अधिवाहयेत्: should set in motion/carry over (use)
• अधिवाहयेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अधि + वह् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; धातुः—वह् (वाहयति causative sense implied by form), उपसर्गः—अधि

• गावः: cows
• गावः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• प्रणश्यन्ति: perish, are lost
• प्रणश्यन्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; धातुः—नश्, उपसर्गः—प्र

• याः: which
• याः: Anuyogi (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; गावः इति विशेषण/सम्बन्धी

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• पूर्वसंचिताः: previously accumulated
• पूर्वसंचिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्व + संचित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—पूर्व-संचित (तत्पुरुषः: पूर्वं संचिताः)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī addressee (implicit continuation)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pastoral household scene by moonlit fields: a woman and man about to churn curd with a manthāna; an elder/ascetic gestures to stop, pointing to Soma-lit trees; in the background, cattle appear distressed, symbolizing impending loss.

Characters & Entities

• Soma
• Gāvaḥ (cows/cattle)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Disregarding sacred timing and restraint is portrayed as bringing tangible worldly loss, reminding householders to align actions with dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the instruction is a dharmic rule within the Revā-khaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prohibition against operating the manthāna (churning activity) during the specified Soma/vegetation period.