Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

यावत्त्रस्तमृगीदृष्टिं चपलां न विलोकयेत् । तावन्माता पिता तावद्धाता तावत्ससुहृज्जनः

Transliteration

yāvattrastamṛgīdṛṣṭiṃ capalāṃ na vilokayet | tāvanmātā pitā tāvaddhātā tāvatsasuhṛjjanaḥ

Translation

Chừng nào người ta chưa đưa mắt nhìn ánh nhìn chập chờn như nai, khiến tâm trí xao động, chừng ấy cha mẹ vẫn là bậc hộ trì chân thật; chừng ấy Đấng Vidhātā (Đấng an bài số mệnh) vẫn nâng đỡ; và chừng ấy bạn hiền cùng người thiện tâm vẫn một lòng bền vững.

Word by Word

• yāvat: as long as / so much as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yāvat (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम-विशेषण)
• Form: अव्ययवत्-प्रयोगः; नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनरूपम् (correlative adjective: 'as long as/so much as')

• trasta-mṛgī-dṛṣṭim: the frightened-doe-like gaze
• trasta-mṛgī-dṛṣṭim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trasta (कृदन्त/भूतकृदन्त-विशेषण) + mṛgī (प्रातिपदिक) + dṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (trasta-mṛgī-iva dṛṣṭiḥ → 'a gaze like that of a frightened doe')

• capalām: restless, fickle
• capalām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: capala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (dṛṣṭim)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (निपात/अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपातः (negation particle)

• vilokayet: should look at / may behold
• vilokayet: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi√lok (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative/आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; विधिलिङ्गार्थेऽपि सम्भवः (injunctive sense)

• tāvat: so long / that long
• tāvat: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम-विशेषण)
• Form: अव्ययवत्-प्रयोगः; नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनरूपम् (correlative: 'so long/so much')

• mātā: mother
• mātā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• pitā: father
• pitā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• tāvat: so long
• tāvat: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम-विशेषण)
• Form: अव्ययवत्-प्रयोगः; नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनरूपम्

• dhātā: the creator / sustainer
• dhātā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; 'धाता' = विधाता/creator, supporter

• tāvat: so long
• tāvat: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम-विशेषण)
• Form: अव्ययवत्-प्रयोगः; नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनरूपम्

• sa-suhṛt-janaḥ: (one’s) friends and people (well-wishers)
• sa-suhṛt-janaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa (उपसर्ग/सह-प्रयोग) + suhṛt (प्रातिपदिक) + jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः/सह-पूर्वपदसमासः (suhṛt-janaḥ = 'friendly people'; sa- = 'with/along with' emphatic)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇyaka

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative moral tableau: a restrained ascetic/householder averts his eyes from a fleeting deer-like glance; behind him stand symbolic figures—mother, father, a radiant ‘Dhātā’ (Providence), and loyal friends—forming a protective circle.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sense-restraint protects one’s life, reputation, and support-system; uncontrolled fascination destabilizes dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it forms part of Dharmāraṇya’s broader dharma-instruction context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; the instruction is ethical—guarding the eyes and mind.