Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

परद्रोहरताः सर्वे नरनारीनपुंसकाः । परनिन्दापरा नित्यं परच्छिद्रोपदर्शकाः

Transliteration

paradroharatāḥ sarve naranārīnapuṃsakāḥ | paranindāparā nityaṃ paracchidropadarśakāḥ

Translation

Alle — Männer, Frauen und Menschen neutraler Natur — sind dem Schädigen anderer zugetan; stets auf Verleumdung bedacht und unablässig darauf aus, fremde Fehler aufzuzeigen.

Word by Word

• para-droha-ratāḥ: engaged in harming others
• para-droha-ratāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + droha (प्रातिपदिक) + rata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष ‘परद्रोहे रताः’ (Masculine, Nominative plural; delighting in harming others)

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण (Masculine, Nominative plural; pronominal adjective)

• nara-nārī-napuṃsakāḥ: men, women, and eunuchs
• nara-nārī-napuṃsakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + nārī (प्रातिपदिक) + napuṃsaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (Masculine, Nominative plural; ‘men, women, and eunuchs’)

• para-nindā-parāḥ: given to others’ blame
• para-nindā-parāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + nindā (प्रातिपदिक) + para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष ‘परनिन्दायां पराः/आसक्ताः’ (Masculine, Nominative plural; devoted to slandering others)

• nityam: always
• nityam: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nityam (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• para-chidra-upadarśakāḥ: showing others’ faults
• para-chidra-upadarśakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + chidra (प्रातिपदिक) + upa + √dṛś (दृश्) (कृदन्त—ण्वुल/अक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; उपदर्शक (कर्तृवाचक कृदन्त) ‘परस्य छिद्रं उपदर्शयन्ति’ (Masculine, Nominative plural; agent-noun ‘those who point out others’ faults’)

Speaker

Vyāsa (continued)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A crowd with pointing fingers and whispering mouths; dark speech-scrolls turning into thorns; a calm ascetic at the forest edge gestures toward silence and dharma.

Characters & Entities

• Kaliyuga (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is protected by non-harm and disciplined speech; slander and betrayal are hallmarks of decline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha; the verse is part of the Kali-yuga characterization within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it condemns unethical tendencies (harm, slander, fault-finding).