Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

अथ ते धर्मशास्त्राणि प्रविचार्य पुनःपुनः । तमूचुर्ब्राह्मणाः सर्वे प्रायश्चित्तकृते स्थितम्

Transliteration

atha te dharmaśāstrāṇi pravicārya punaḥpunaḥ | tamūcurbrāhmaṇāḥ sarve prāyaścittakṛte sthitam

Translation

Daraufhin prüften alle Brahmanen die Dharma-Śāstras immer wieder und sprachen zu ihm über die zu vollziehende Sühnehandlung (prāyaścitta).

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमार्थक (then)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• dharmaśāstrāṇi: dharma-texts
• dharmaśāstrāṇi: Karma (Object of pravicārya)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (धर्म प्रातिपदिक) + śāstra (शास्त्र प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (धर्मस्य शास्त्राणि)

• pravicārya: having deliberated
• pravicārya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra+vi+√car (प्र+वि+चर् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकाल; ‘विचारं कृत्वा’

• punaḥpunaḥ: repeatedly
• punaḥpunaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Frequency)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥpunaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति-प्रकार (adverb: again and again)

• tam: to him
• tam: Karma (Object of ūcuḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ūcuḥ: said
• ūcuḥ: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• brāhmaṇāḥ: Brahmins
• brāhmaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (ब्राह्मण प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; te इत्यस्य विशेष्य

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (सर्व प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (ब्राह्मणाः)

• prāyaścittakṛte: in (the matter of) expiation
• prāyaścittakṛte: Adhikaraṇa (State/condition)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāyaścitta (प्रायश्चित्त प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृत प्रातिपदिक; √kṛ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (प्रायश्चित्तं कृतं यस्मिन्/यत्र)

• sthitam: decided/settled
• sthitam: Karma (Predicate complement to what was said)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘स्थितम्’ (निगमनार्थं: ‘स्थिरं/निश्चितम्’)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; exact speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Elders in council lean toward manuscripts, discussing and pointing to passages; after deliberation they address the penitent with a composed, authoritative expression, indicating the expiation to be performed.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Expiation is not arbitrary; it is grounded in śāstra and careful deliberation by the learned.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse indicates that a specific prāyaścitta is determined, but does not yet state its details.