Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मघ्नं चांधतामिस्रे सुरापं पूयशोणिते । कालसूत्रे हेमचौरमवीचौ गुरुतल्पगम्

Transliteration

brahmaghnaṃ cāṃdhatāmisre surāpaṃ pūyaśoṇite | kālasūtre hemacauramavīcau gurutalpagam

Translation

Der Mörder eines Brāhmaṇa gelangt nach Andhatāmisra; der Trinker von Rauschmitteln nach Pūyaśoṇita; der Golddieb nach Kālasūtra; und wer das Lager des Guru schändet nach Avīci.

Word by Word

• brahma-ghnam: a slayer of a brahmin
• brahma-ghnam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + ghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ब्रह्महन् (brahmin-slayer)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• andha-tāmisre: in Andhatāmisra (hell)
• andha-tāmisre: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: andha (प्रातिपदिक) + tāmisra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; नरकविशेष (Andhatāmisra)

• surāpam: a drinker of liquor
• surāpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surā (प्रातिपदिक) + pa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सुरां पिबति इति (drinker of liquor)

• pūya-śoṇite: in Pūyaśoṇita (pus-and-blood hell)
• pūya-śoṇite: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūya (प्रातिपदिक) + śoṇita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; पूयम् च शोणितम् च (pus and blood) नरक/स्थाननाम

• kāla-sūtre: in Kālasūtra (hell)
• kāla-sūtre: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + sūtra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; नरकविशेष (Kālasūtra)

• hema-cauram: a thief of gold
• hema-cauram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hema (प्रातिपदिक) + caura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; हेमं चोरयति इति (gold-thief)

• avīcau: in Avīci (hell)
• avīcau: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avīci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; नरकविशेष (Avīci)

• guru-talpa-gam: one who violates the teacher's bed
• guru-talpa-gam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक) + talpa (प्रातिपदिक) + gam (धातु) → ga (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; गुरोः तल्पं गच्छति इति (violator of guru's bed)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied attendants and audience (Andhaka in surrounding sequence)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau listing four archetypal sinners, each being led toward a distinct infernal landscape: pitch-dark Andhatāmisra, a river of pus-and-blood Pūyaśoṇita, binding lines/ropes of Kālasūtra, and the bottomless Avīci abyss.

Characters & Entities

• Andhatāmisra
• Pūyaśoṇita
• Kālasūtra
• Avīci
• Guru

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa highlights mahāpātakas (great sins) and teaches that moral order is upheld through inevitable karmic consequence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage belongs to Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī setting; the verse itself is a doctrinal catalog of sins rather than a site description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it implies the need for restraint, purity, and repentance to avoid mahāpātakas.