Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5
ब्रह्मघ्नस्त्वं यतः प्रोक्तास्त्रयो वर्णा द्विजोत्तमाः । ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियो वैश्यः स्मृतिशास्त्रप्रपाठकैः
brahmaghnastvaṃ yataḥ proktāstrayo varṇā dvijottamāḥ | brāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyo vaiśyaḥ smṛtiśāstraprapāṭhakaiḥ
“Because the teachers and reciters of the Smṛti-śāstras declare that the three twice-born varṇas—Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, and Vaiśya—when they violate Brahmanical sanctity are called ‘brahmaghna’ (slayers of Brahman), therefore you are spoken of as a brahmaghna, O best of the twice-born.”
Unnamed Nāgara dvija(s) (contextual: townsmen-brāhmaṇas addressing Puṣpa)
Listener: Puṣpa (within story) and the Naimiṣāraṇya audience (frame, implied)
Scene: A council of learned reciters cites Smṛti authority; the accused dvija stands with lowered head as the term ‘brahmaghna’ is pronounced, emphasizing the gravity of sacrilege.
FAQs
Transgressions against Brahmanical sanctity are treated as extremely grave in Dharmaśāstra, prompting urgent pursuit of purification (śuddhi) through authorized means.
The verse sits within a Tīrthamāhātmya discussion in Nāgara Khaṇḍa; the immediate focus is on determining a valid means of purification connected to the local sacred setting (tīrtha context continues in surrounding verses).
No specific rite is prescribed in this verse; it frames the doctrinal basis (Smṛti authority) for the need of expiation, which is detailed in subsequent verses.
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