Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

यदि रोषसमाचारो निर्वास्यो नगराद्बहिः । न जातु ब्राह्मणं हन्यात्सर्वपापेऽप्यवस्थितम्

Transliteration

yadi roṣasamācāro nirvāsyo nagarādbahiḥ | na jātu brāhmaṇaṃ hanyātsarvapāpe'pyavasthitam

Translation

Si la conduite est dominée par la colère, qu’on le bannisse hors de la cité ; mais jamais on ne doit tuer un brāhmaṇa, fût-il enlacé à tous les péchés.

Word by Word

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्ययम् (conditional particle)

• रोष-समाचारः: conduct arising from anger
• रोष-समाचारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: roṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + samācāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (रोषस्य समाचारः)

• निर्वास्यः: to be banished
• निर्वास्यः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-√vas (धातु) → nirvāsya (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम्; भाव्य/अर्हार्थक-यत् (gerundive: ‘to be expelled’)

• नगरात्: from the city
• नगरात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nagara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th case/अपादान), एकवचन

• बहिः: outside
• बहिः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bahiḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb of place)

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्ययम् (negation particle)

• जातु: ever
• जातु: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jātu (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्ययम् (emphatic temporal particle: ‘ever/at any time’)

• ब्राह्मणम्: a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

• हन्यात्: should kill
• हन्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √han (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• सर्व-पापे: in all sin
• सर्व-पापे: Adhikarana (State/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘all’ qualifying ‘sin’)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Concession/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्ययम् (concessive ‘even’)

• अवस्थितम्: situated/remaining (in)
• अवस्थितम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ava-√sthā (धातु) → avasthita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) ब्राह्मणम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (narrative voice, inferred)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (राजन् addressed in surrounding passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king in court hears counsel: an angry offender is led beyond the city gate, while a brāhmaṇa—though morally fallen—is spared; dharma personified stands behind the throne.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma restrains power: even when discipline is needed, punishment must be proportionate and non-destructive to sacred social order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is praised here; the Revā Khaṇḍa setting supports a broader dharma teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A governance prescription is implied: exile is preferred over killing; no specific vrata, snāna, or dāna is stated.