Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

स्त्रीबालघातकश्चैव पापी चानृतभाषणः । अनाचारी तथा स्तेयी परदाराभिगस्तथा । अकार्यकारी कृत्यघ्नो ब्रह्मद्विड्वाडवाधमः

Transliteration

strībālaghātakaścaiva pāpī cānṛtabhāṣaṇaḥ | anācārī tathā steyī paradārābhigastathā | akāryakārī kṛtyaghno brahmadviḍvāḍavādhamaḥ

Translation

Selbst wer Frauen oder Kinder tötet, der Sünder, der Unwahrheit spricht, der Zuchtlose, der Dieb, der die Frau eines anderen schändet; wer tut, was nicht getan werden darf, wer heilige Pflichten zerstört, der Brāhmaṇas hasst, und der niederträchtigste der Menschen—auch er wird durch solche Hingabe gereinigt.

Word by Word

• strī-bāla-ghātakaḥ: killer of women and children
• strī-bāla-ghātakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक) + bāla (प्रातिपदिक) + ghātaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘strīṇāṃ bālānāṃ ca ghātakaḥ’ (killer of women and children)

• ca: and
• ca: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• eva: indeed
• eva: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक

• pāpī: a sinner
• pāpī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘sinful person’

• ca: and
• ca: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• anṛta-bhāṣaṇaḥ: speaker of lies
• anṛta-bhāṣaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘anṛtaṃ bhāṣate’ (speaker of falsehood)

• anācārī: ill-conducted
• anācārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anācārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘of bad conduct’

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/तुल्यार्थक (adverb: likewise)

• steyī: a thief
• steyī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: steyin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘thief’

• para-dāra-abhigaḥ: adulterer (approacher of others’ wives)
• para-dāra-abhigaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदik) + dāra (प्रातिपदिक) + abhiga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘paradārān abhigacchati’ (one who approaches others’ wives; adulterer)

• tathā: and likewise
• tathā: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (likewise)

• akārya-kārī: doer of forbidden deeds
• akārya-kārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akārya (प्रातिपदिक) + kārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘akāryaṃ karoti’ (doer of forbidden acts)

• kṛtya-ghnaḥ: destroyer of duties/rites
• kṛtya-ghnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛtya (प्रातिपदिक) + ghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘kṛtyāṃ hanti’ (destroyer of rites/duty; or one who destroys what ought to be done)

• brahma-dviṭ: hater of Brahmins/Veda
• brahma-dviṭ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + dviṣ (द्विष् धातु से निष्पन्न प्रातिपदिक dviṭ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘brahmaṇaḥ dveṣṭā’ (hater of Brahmins/Veda)

• vāḍava-adhamaḥ: a most vile person
• vāḍava-adhamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāḍava (प्रातिपदिक) + adhama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘vāḍavaḥ adhamaḥ’ (the lowest among men; vile person)

Speaker

Dharma-rāja (Yama) (deduced: continuing the sin-removal phalaśruti)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience/practitioners

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark moral tableau: figures representing falsehood, theft, adultery, and brahma-dveṣa stand in shadow; a reciter chants the forty names before a liṅga; the shadows recede as the group adopts humble postures, symbolizing inner conversion.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (implied as the object of praise/recitation)
• Brāhmaṇas (as a dharmic category)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text stresses the transformative power of sacred devotion: even grave wrongdoing can be remedied through sincere turning toward the divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate focus is not a named tirtha but the dharmic efficacy of Śiva-nāma within the Dharmāraṇya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The implied prescription is expiation via recitation/hearing of the praised divine names, framed as pāpa-pranāśana.