Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

गोतिलांश्च तुरंगांश्च विक्रेतारं द्विजाधमम् । मातुलान्याः सुरायाश्च विक्रेतारं हलायुध

Transliteration

gotilāṃśca turaṃgāṃśca vikretāraṃ dvijādhamam | mātulānyāḥ surāyāśca vikretāraṃ halāyudha

Translation

اور اے ہلایُدھ! جو ذلیل برہمن گائے، تل اور گھوڑے بیچتا ہے اسے (سزا دو)؛ اور جو سُرا یعنی نشہ آور شراب بیچتا ہے اسے بھی (سزا دو)۔

Word by Word

• go-tilān: cows and sesame (seeds)
• go-tilān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + tila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्वसमासः (इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः) ‘गवां च तिलान् च’

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

• turaṃgān: horses
• turaṃgān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: turaṃga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

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

• vikretāram: the seller
• vikretāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vikretṛ (प्रातिपदिक, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिकः from √krī/√vikrī विक्रय ‘to sell’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• dvija-adhamam: a vile Brahmin
• dvija-adhamam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + adhama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः ‘अधमो द्विजः’

• mātulānyāḥ: of the maternal uncle’s wife (aunt)
• mātulānyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātulānī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• surāyāḥ: of liquor
• surāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• vikretāram: the seller
• vikretāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vikretṛ (प्रातिपदिक, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिकः from √krī/√vikrī)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• halāyudha: O Halāyudha (Balarāma)
• halāyudha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: halāyudha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; विशेष-नाम (epithet)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; note: vocative 'Halāyudha' appears in verse)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Halāyudha (Balarāma)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moral court scene: a ‘dvijādhama’ merchant with cows, sesame sacks, and horses is seized by Yama’s attendants; another figure is shown selling liquor; Halāyudha/Balarāma is evoked as the addressed hero-sage figure witnessing the admonition.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kāśī
• Halāyudha (Balarāma)
• Naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain trades are portrayed as dharma-violations—especially for the twice-born—because they damage social and spiritual order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī Khaṇḍa context frames the instruction; this verse itself is ethical rather than site-specific.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the focus is on prohibited livelihood and its karmic outcome.