Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

यस्तु पापेन संमूढः सुखं सुप्तं प्रबोधयेत् । जायते तस्य पापस्य ब्रह्महत्याफलं महत्

Transliteration

yastu pāpena saṃmūḍhaḥ sukhaṃ suptaṃ prabodhayet | jāyate tasya pāpasya brahmahatyāphalaṃ mahat

Translation

Wer jedoch, vom Sündentrug verblendet, einen Menschen weckt, der friedlich schläft—groß ist die Frucht dieser Verfehlung, gleich der Frucht der Brahmahatyā, der Tötung eines Brahmanen.

Word by Word

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

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle); विरोध/विशेषार्थक

• पापेन: by sin
• पापेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• संमूढः: deluded
• संमूढः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + मुह् (धातु) → संमूढ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• सुखम्: comfort/pleasure
• सुखम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मपद

• सुप्तम्: sleeping
• सुप्तम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वप् (धातु) → सुप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सुखम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषण

• प्रबोधयेत्: should awaken
• प्रबोधयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + बुध् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• जायते: arises/is produced
• जायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• तस्य: of him/of that
• तस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• पापस्य: of the sin
• पापस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• ब्रह्महत्याफलम्: the fruit of brahma-slaying (brahmahatyā)
• ब्रह्महत्याफलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या + फल (प्रातिपदिक); घटक: ब्रह्महत्या (स्त्री) + फल (नपुं)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ब्रह्महत्यायाः फलम्)

• महत्: great
• महत्: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ब्रह्महत्याफलम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (a devotee/traveler) to a King (rājan)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-cycle

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: An inquiring sage/assembly typical of Purāṇic narration (not specified in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night or early dawn at a riverside āśrama: a peaceful sleeper on a mat; a morally conflicted figure hesitates, the air heavy with dharma; subtle aura of sin as a shadow.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmahatyā (sin of killing a brāhmaṇa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unnecessary disturbance of another’s peace is treated as grave adharma; self-control is a core Purāṇic virtue.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse functions as dharma-instruction within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative; it does not specify a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a prohibition/warning (niṣedha) framed as a dharma consequence.