Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मण उवाच । परनार्याः कृते वत्स प्रायश्चित्तं विनिर्मितम् । धर्म द्रोणेषु सर्वेषु वर्णानां च पृथग्विधम्

Transliteration

brāhmaṇa uvāca | paranāryāḥ kṛte vatsa prāyaścittaṃ vinirmitam | dharma droṇeṣu sarveṣu varṇānāṃ ca pṛthagvidham

Translation

Der Brāhmaṇa sprach: „Mein Kind, für ein Vergehen, das die Frau eines anderen betrifft, sind in allen Dharma-Sammlungen Sühnen (prāyaścitta) festgelegt, in je eigener Form nach den varṇas.“

Word by Word

• brāhmaṇaḥ: the brāhmaṇa
• brāhmaṇaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (nom. sg.)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; √वच्

• para-nāryāḥ: of another’s wife/woman
• para-nāryāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para + nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘परस्याः नारी’ (another man’s woman) gen. sg.

• kṛte: in the case of/for
• kṛte: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta (√kṛ क्त; प्रातिपदिकवत्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; हेतौ-सप्तमी (locative of cause: ‘in the case of/for’)

• vatsa: dear child
• vatsa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vatsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन (voc. sg.)

• prāyaścittam: expiation/penance
• prāyaścittam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāyaścitta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (nom./acc. sg.)

• vinirmitam: is laid down/made
• vinirmitam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-nir-√mā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘prescribed/constructed’

• dharma: dharma/law
• dharma: Sambandha (Topic/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (पाठे सम्भाव्यः ‘धर्मः’ प्रथमा)

• droṇeṣu: in the droṇas/measure-units (i.e., categories)
• droṇeṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: droṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (loc. pl.); ‘droṇa’ = measure/vessel; here likely ‘sections/containers’ metaphorically

• sarveṣu: in all
• sarveṣu: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifies droṇeṣu)

• varṇānām: of the social classes (varṇas)
• varṇānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (gen. pl.)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction: and)

• pṛthak-vidham: of different kinds/separately prescribed
• pṛthak-vidham: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pṛthak + vidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘पृथक् विधम्’ (of different kinds)

Speaker

Brāhmaṇa (dharmaśāstra-knower)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka et al. (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The brāhmaṇa speaks with measured hand-gesture (vyākhyāna-mudrā), indicating structured teaching; Sāṃba listens, still contrite.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Dharmaśāstra
• Varṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma provides structured remedies for moral collapse, tailored to responsibility and social duty.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this verse; it is a dharma-prāyaścitta teaching within a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Atonements (prāyaścitta) are affirmed as prescribed in dharma texts, with variations by varṇa; the specific act is detailed in subsequent verses.