Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

युवां निरागसावद्य केन पापेन सायकैः । निहतौ वै तपोनिष्ठौ मत्प्राणौ मद्गुरू वने

Transliteration

yuvāṃ nirāgasāvadya kena pāpena sāyakaiḥ | nihatau vai taponiṣṭhau matprāṇau madgurū vane

Translation

«كنتُما بريئَين لا عيبَ عليكما؛ فأيُّ ذنبٍ جعلكما تُقتلان بالسهام؟ كنتما ثابتَين على التَّقشُّف (التَّبَس)، أنفاسي وحياتي، ومعلِّمَيَّ، هناك في الغابة.»

Word by Word

• yuvām: you two
• yuvām: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), द्वितीया/सम्बोधन-प्रायः (Accusative/Vocative usage), द्विवचन (Dual)

• nirāgasau: sinless, guiltless
• nirāgasau: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-āgas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण (adjective), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• avadyau: blameless
• avadyau: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: avadya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण (adjective), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• kena: by what?
• kena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrogative pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-प्रयोग (contextual), तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• pāpena: by sin
• pāpena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• sāyakaiḥ: with arrows
• sāyakaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• nihatau: slain
• nihatau: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa / Predicative (Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√han (धातु) + ta (क्त, past passive participle)
• Form: कृदन्त (PPP/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual); कर्मणि-भाव (passive sense): 'having been slain'

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha/Emphasis (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अव्यय

• taponiṣṭhau: steadfast in austerity
• taponiṣṭhau: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक) + niṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (determinative): tapas-niṣṭha; विशेषण, पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• matprāṇau: my very life-breaths (dear ones)
• matprāṇau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): mat-prāṇa; पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• madgurū: my gurus (teachers)
• madgurū: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + guru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): mad-guru; पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• vane: in the forest
• vane: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

The son of the slain ascetic couple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: viprāḥ (brāhmaṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grieving son stands over the bodies of two tapasvins (father and mother) pierced by arrows; the forest-āśrama is quiet, with a cave nearby; the unseen king’s presence is implied by bow and arrows; the son’s lament is accusatory yet devotional.

Characters & Entities

• tapas
• guru
• sāyaka (arrow)
• vana (forest)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

To injure the blameless—especially tapasvins and gurus—is a severe adharma that provokes deep moral reckoning and the need for atonement.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The story sits within Setukhaṇḍa’s pilgrimage frame (Setu/Rāmeśvaram), though the verse itself is a lament in a forest setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse prepares the ground for later prāyaścitta (expiation) themes typical in Purāṇic narratives.