Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

पातकानि च घोराणि यान्यचिन्त्यानि देहिनाम् । पापिष्ठेन तु चैकेन गुरुदारा निषेविता

Transliteration

pātakāni ca ghorāṇi yānyacintyāni dehinām | pāpiṣṭhena tu caikena gurudārā niṣevitā

Translation

«Il est des fautes terribles, inconcevables pour les êtres incarnés. Et un seul homme, le plus pécheur, alla jusqu’à souiller l’épouse de son maître spirituel».

Word by Word

• पातकानि: sins/crimes
• पातकानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• घोराणि: terrible
• घोराणि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; पातकानि विशेषणम् (terrible)

• यानि: which
• यानि: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; सम्बन्धक (which)

• अचिन्त्यानि: unthinkable
• अचिन्त्यानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + चिन्त्य (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; चिन्त् + य)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; पातकानि विशेषणम् (unthinkable)

• देहिनाम्: of embodied beings
• देहिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देहिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी बहुवचनम्

• पापिष्ठेन: by the most sinful (one)
• पापिष्ठेन: Karana (Agent/instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पापिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक; पाप + इष्ठन्-तमप्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (by the most sinful)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक (but/indeed)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• एकेन: by one
• एकेन: Karana (Agent/instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम्; (by one)

• गुरुदारा: the teacher’s wife
• गुरुदारा: Karta (Subject of passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + दारा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; (गुरोः दारा) ‘teacher’s wife’

• निषेविता: was violated/consorted with
• निषेविता: Kriya (Predicate in passive/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + सेव् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकालिक कृदन्त (क्त); स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; कर्मणि (was consorted with/served)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual purāṇic voice within Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ṛṣis/dvijas (implied audience from prior verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A speaker describes terrifying, unthinkable sins, culminating in the shocking act of violating the teacher’s wife; the assembly reacts with dread and moral urgency.

Characters & Entities

• Guru
• Pātaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma marks certain acts as extremely destructive (guru-apacāra), setting the stage for highlighting the tīrtha’s extraordinary capacity to purify.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The discussion occurs within the Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-māhātmya in the Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new ritual is prescribed here; the verse enumerates grave pāpa to underscore the need for purification through tīrtha.