Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

व्रतभंगकरा ये च ये च पाषण्डिनो नराः । तेऽत्रागत्य शितैः शस्त्रैः पिष्यंते पापकृत्तमाः

Transliteration

vratabhaṃgakarā ye ca ye ca pāṣaṇḍino narāḥ | te'trāgatya śitaiḥ śastraiḥ piṣyaṃte pāpakṛttamāḥ

Translation

Diejenigen, die heilige Gelübde (vrata) brechen, und jene Menschen, die häretischen, das Dharma zerstörenden Pfaden folgen — kommen sie hierher, werden diese schlimmsten Sünder von scharfen Waffen zermalmt.

Word by Word

• vrata-bhaṅga-karāḥ: breakers of vows
• vrata-bhaṅga-karāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक) + bhaṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (व्रतभङ्गं कुर्वन्ति)

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय

• pāṣaṇḍinaḥ: heretics
• pāṣaṇḍinaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṣaṇḍin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• narāḥ: men
• narāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय

• āgatya: having come
• āgatya: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया/absolutive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-√gam (गम् धातु) → āgatya (कृदन्त, ल्यप्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund): ‘having come’

• śitaiḥ: with sharp
• śitaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (शस्त्र-विशेषण), तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (‘sharp’)

• śastraiḥ: weapons
• śastraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śastra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• piṣyante: are crushed/ground
• piṣyante: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √piṣ (पिष् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• pāpa-kṛt-tamāḥ: the worst sinners
• pāpa-kṛt-tamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛt (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + tama (प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (पापं कुर्वन्ति) + तमप्-प्रत्यय (superlative)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattama (addressed Brahmin interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grim infernal chamber where vow-breakers and pāṣaṇḍins are driven onto a crushing apparatus of sharp weapons; blades press from all sides, symbolizing the ‘cutting’ of dharma and the recoil of broken discipline.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Vows (vratas) are sacred contracts with dharma; breaking them and undermining dharma leads to severe karmic downfall.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is specified in this verse; it continues the didactic naraka narrative inside a tīrtha-māhātmya section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse references vratas in general but does not prescribe a particular vow or expiation.