Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

सुरापयोषित्संसर्गी गणिकान्नाशनस्तथा । गणान्नभोजकश्चैव पतितान्नरतश्च यः

Transliteration

surāpayoṣitsaṃsargī gaṇikānnāśanastathā | gaṇānnabhojakaścaiva patitānnarataśca yaḥ

Translation

Wer Umgang mit berauschendem Trank und gefallenen Frauen pflegt; wer die Speise einer Kurtisane isst; wer von der Speise unreiner Gruppen mitisst; und wer sich an der Speise der Gefallenen ergötzt—wer so ist, wird zu denen gezählt, die der Läuterung bedürfen.

Word by Word

• सुरापयोषित्संसर्गी: one who associates with liquor and women
• सुरापयोषित्संसर्गी: Karta (Subject, implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surā-payoṣit-saṃsargin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (बहुपद): सुरायाः पयोषितां च संसर्गी; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गणिकान्नाशनः: eater of a courtesan's food
• गणिकान्नाशनः: Karta (Subject, implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇikā-anna-aśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: गणिकायाः अन्नम् (food of a courtesan) + आशनः (eater); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (addition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), 'likewise/also'

• गणान्नभोजकः: eater of food belonging to a group/association
• गणान्नभोजकः: Karta (Subject, implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa-anna-bhojaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: गणस्य अन्नम् + भोजकः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• पतितान्नरतः: one devoted to (eating) a fallen person's food
• पतितान्नरतः: Karta (Subject, implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patita-anna-rata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: पतितस्य अन्ने रतः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (relative pronoun)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) continuing the catalogue of transgressions

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu (Setubandha/Rāmeśvara)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas/ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cautionary tableau: a man amid wine vessels and a courtesan’s house; another accepts food from impure groups; their faces show moral decline; a distant vision of Setu’s bright shore suggests a path back through repentance.

Characters & Entities

• Surā (liquor)
• Gaṇikā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇic dharma frame warns that conduct, company, and food-intake shape purity and karma; such lapses are listed to emphasize the need for reform and expiation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu-kṣetra is the underlying setting of the discourse, where such impurities are later said to be removable through pilgrimage observances.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated in this verse; it enumerates behaviors considered defiling, in a section that points toward Setu-based purification practices.