Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणस्य वधात्सूत ब्रह्महत्याभिजायते । न ब्राह्मणो दशग्रीवः कथं तद्वद नो मुने

Transliteration

brāhmaṇasya vadhātsūta brahmahatyābhijāyate | na brāhmaṇo daśagrīvaḥ kathaṃ tadvada no mune

Translation

Die ṛṣis sprachen: „O Sūta, durch die Tötung eines brāhmaṇa entsteht die Sünde der brahmahatyā. Doch Daśagrīva war kein brāhmaṇa—wie kann dann dieselbe Schuld gelten? Erkläre es uns, o Weiser.“

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणस्य: of a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• वधात्: from the killing
• वधात्: Apadana (Source/Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• सूत: O Sūta
• सूत: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• ब्रह्महत्या: Brahmin-slaying sin (brahmahatyā)
• ब्रह्महत्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + हत्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• अभिजायते: arises / is produced
• अभिजायते: Kriya (Predicate action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि√जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• ब्राह्मणः: a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• दशग्रीवः: Daśagrīva (Rāvaṇa; ‘ten-necked’)
• दशग्रीवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दश + ग्रीव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• तद्वत्: in that way / similarly
• तद्वत्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् + वत् (प्रातिपदिक/तद्धित)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable, ‘like that/in that manner’)

• नः: of us / our
• नः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उभयलिङ्ग (pronoun), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Naimiṣāraṇya sages (Ṛṣis) addressing Sūta

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya-vāsī ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circle of forest-dwelling sages in Naimiṣa respectfully question Sūta about the paradox of brahma-hatyā in the Rāma–Rāvaṇa episode; palm-leaf manuscripts, sacrificial fires, and a serene woodland hermitage.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Daśagrīva (Rāvaṇa)
• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is subtle: the tradition probes how sin is determined—not only by the act, but by the victim’s status and the deeper circumstances.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate verse is doctrinal; the broader Setukhaṇḍa context relates to Setu/Rāmeśvaram and its sacred narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it raises a doctrinal question about brahma-hatyā.