Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

इह मानुष्यतां प्राप्य पङ्ग्वन्धबधिरा नराः । गवार्थे ब्राह्मणार्थे च ह्यनृतं वदतामिह

Transliteration

iha mānuṣyatāṃ prāpya paṅgvandhabadhirā narāḥ | gavārthe brāhmaṇārthe ca hyanṛtaṃ vadatāmiha

Translation

یہاں انسان کا جنم پا کر بھی وہ لوگ لنگڑے، اندھے اور بہرے ہو جاتے ہیں—جو اس دنیا میں گائے کے فائدے کے لیے یا برہمنوں کے معاملے میں جھوٹ بولتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• mānuṣyatām: human state
• mānuṣyatām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānuṣyatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; ‘human state/condition’

• prāpya: having attained
• prāpya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √prāp (धातु; प्र + √āp)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); ‘having attained’

• paṅgu-andha-badhirāḥ: lame, blind, and deaf
• paṅgu-andha-badhirāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paṅgu + andha + badhira (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (समाहार/इतरेतर; त्रयाणां विशेषणानां समुच्चयः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; ‘lame, blind, and deaf’ इति नरान् विशेषयति

• narāḥ: men
• narāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• gavārthe: for the sake of a cow
• gavārthe: Nimitta/Hetu (Purpose/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go + artha (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘gavasya arthaḥ’); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; हेतौ/विषये (for the sake of)

• brāhmaṇārthe: for the sake of a Brahmin
• brāhmaṇārthe: Nimitta/Hetu (Purpose/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa + artha (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘brāhmaṇasya arthaḥ’); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; हेतौ/विषये

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

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

• anṛtam: falsehood
• anṛtam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• vadatām: of those who speak
• vadatām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vad (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्यय; ‘vadat’), षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; ‘of those who speak’

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय

Speaker

Deductive: Skanda (Kārttikeya) narrating within Āvantya Khaṇḍa’s Reva Khaṇḍa frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moral allegory: a person giving false testimony over cows or Brahmin dues; the karmic result shown as a later-life figure who is lame, blind, and deaf—contrasting courtroom/assembly with the suffering rebirth.

Characters & Entities

• Go (cow/cattle)
• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Truthfulness is central to dharma; deceit in sensitive sacred-social domains (cows and Brahmin-related matters) ripens into bodily impairment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named; the verse is ethical instruction within the Reva Khaṇḍa’s Revā sacred-geography narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the implied prescription is satya (truth) and careful speech in dharmic/legal and sacred matters.