Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

अङ्गुष्ठाङ्गुलियोगेन तच्छिरस्तेन कृन्तितम् । कृत्तमात्रे तु शिरसि ब्रह्महत्याऽभवत्तदा

Transliteration

aṅguṣṭhāṅguliyogena tacchirastena kṛntitam | kṛttamātre tu śirasi brahmahatyā'bhavattadā

Translation

Par la jonction du pouce et du doigt, cette tête fut tranchée. Mais au moment où la tête fut coupée, le péché du brahma-hatyā (le meurtre d'un brahmane) surgit alors.

Word by Word

• अङ्गुष्ठ-अङ्गुलि-योगेन: by the joining of thumb and finger
• अङ्गुष्ठ-अङ्गुलि-योगेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्गुष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्गुलि (प्रातिपदिक) + योग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• तत्-शिरः: that head
• तत्-शिरः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• तेन: by that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• कृन्तितम्: was cut
• कृन्तितम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृन्त् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive sense)

• कृत्त-मात्रे: when it was merely cut / at the moment of cutting
• कृत्त-मात्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत्त (कृन्त्-धातु, क्त कृदन्त) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• तु: indeed, then
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (Connector/सम्बन्धबोधक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; contrast/emphasis)

• शिरसि: in/on the head
• शिरसि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• ब्रह्म-हत्या: the sin of Brahmin-slaying (brahmahatyā)
• ब्रह्म-हत्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + हत्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• अभवत्: arose, came to be
• अभवत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (Rājan)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śambhu, with a subtle hand gesture—thumb and finger joined—severs the horse-faced head; at the instant of cutting, a dark, personified shadow of brahmahatyā arises and clings.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (implied as agent: Śambhu from prior verse)
• Brahmahatyā (sin)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma dramatizes the gravity of brahmahatyā by narrating its immediate arising from a transgressive act, setting the stage for teachings on purification and grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha is not named in this verse; it forms part of the origin-story explaining why Dhauta-pāpa becomes a sin-destroying place.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates the causal origin of the sin (brahmahatyā) that later tīrtha practices are said to remove.