Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मस्वहरणे यच्च गरदे गोविघातिनि । विद्याविक्रयणोत्थं च संसर्गाद्यच्च पातकम्

Transliteration

brahmasvaharaṇe yacca garade govighātini | vidyāvikrayaṇotthaṃ ca saṃsargādyacca pātakam

Translation

Et le péché qu’il y a à dérober les biens d’un brāhmane ; le péché d’administrer du poison ; le péché de tuer une vache ; le péché né de la vente du savoir sacré ; et tout péché né d’une fréquentation corrompue—(tout cela est compris).

Word by Word

• ब्रह्म-स्व-हरणे: in stealing sacred/Brahmin property
• ब्रह्म-स्व-हरणे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म (प्रातिपदिक) + स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + हरण (भाव; √हृ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः — ‘in stealing Brahmin-property/sacred property’

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक — ‘which’

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• गरदे: in administering poison
• गरदे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गरद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — ‘in poison-giving/poisoner (act)’ (context: administering poison)

• गो-विघातिनि: in killing a cow
• गो-विघातिनि: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक) + विघातिन् (प्रातिपदिक; √हन्/घात)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः — ‘in cow-killer (act)’

• विद्या-विक्रयण-उत्थम्: arising from selling knowledge
• विद्या-विक्रयण-उत्थम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विद्या (प्रातिपदिक) + विक्रयण (भाव; √क्री) + उत्थ (कृदन्त; √स्था/उत्था)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः — ‘arising from selling knowledge’

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• संसर्गात्: from association
• संसर्गात्: Apadana (Ablative source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन — ‘from association/contact’

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक — ‘which’

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• पातकम्: sin/crime
• पातकम्: Karma/Artha (Object/Topic; कर्म/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (contextual, continuing discourse to Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrthas (general)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stern moral panorama: a cow protected near a river shrine; a brāhmaṇa’s stolen goods returned; a poison vial shattered; a teacher freely instructing students; dark figures of corrupt companions kept outside a sacred boundary marked by lamps.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Go (Cow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma condemns exploitation—stealing sacred property, harming life, commodifying sacred knowledge, and keeping corrupt company.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it is part of a larger Revā Khaṇḍa purification context connected to Narmadā-region sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly here; the passage proceeds toward dāna (notably kanyādāna and gopradāna) as expiatory merit.