Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

स्त्रीबालघातकश्चैव पापी चानृतभाषणः । अनाचारी तथा स्तेयी परदाराभिगस्तथा । अकार्यकारी कृत्यघ्नो ब्रह्मद्विड्वाडवाधमः

Transliteration

strībālaghātakaścaiva pāpī cānṛtabhāṣaṇaḥ | anācārī tathā steyī paradārābhigastathā | akāryakārī kṛtyaghno brahmadviḍvāḍavādhamaḥ

Translation

Même celui qui tue femmes ou enfants, le pécheur qui profère le mensonge, l’homme de conduite corrompue, le voleur, celui qui outrage l’épouse d’autrui; celui qui fait ce qui ne doit pas être fait, qui détruit les devoirs sacrés, qui hait les brāhmaṇas, et le plus vil des hommes—est lui aussi purifié par une telle dévotion.

Word by Word

• strī-bāla-ghātakaḥ: killer of women and children
• strī-bāla-ghātakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक) + bāla (प्रातिपदिक) + ghātaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘strīṇāṃ bālānāṃ ca ghātakaḥ’ (killer of women and children)

• ca: and
• ca: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• eva: indeed
• eva: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक

• pāpī: a sinner
• pāpī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘sinful person’

• ca: and
• ca: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• anṛta-bhāṣaṇaḥ: speaker of lies
• anṛta-bhāṣaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘anṛtaṃ bhāṣate’ (speaker of falsehood)

• anācārī: ill-conducted
• anācārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anācārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘of bad conduct’

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/तुल्यार्थक (adverb: likewise)

• steyī: a thief
• steyī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: steyin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘thief’

• para-dāra-abhigaḥ: adulterer (approacher of others’ wives)
• para-dāra-abhigaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदik) + dāra (प्रातिपदिक) + abhiga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘paradārān abhigacchati’ (one who approaches others’ wives; adulterer)

• tathā: and likewise
• tathā: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (likewise)

• akārya-kārī: doer of forbidden deeds
• akārya-kārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akārya (प्रातिपदिक) + kārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘akāryaṃ karoti’ (doer of forbidden acts)

• kṛtya-ghnaḥ: destroyer of duties/rites
• kṛtya-ghnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛtya (प्रातिपदिक) + ghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘kṛtyāṃ hanti’ (destroyer of rites/duty; or one who destroys what ought to be done)

• brahma-dviṭ: hater of Brahmins/Veda
• brahma-dviṭ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + dviṣ (द्विष् धातु से निष्पन्न प्रातिपदिक dviṭ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘brahmaṇaḥ dveṣṭā’ (hater of Brahmins/Veda)

• vāḍava-adhamaḥ: a most vile person
• vāḍava-adhamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāḍava (प्रातिपदिक) + adhama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘vāḍavaḥ adhamaḥ’ (the lowest among men; vile person)

Speaker

Dharma-rāja (Yama) (deduced: continuing the sin-removal phalaśruti)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience/practitioners

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark moral tableau: figures representing falsehood, theft, adultery, and brahma-dveṣa stand in shadow; a reciter chants the forty names before a liṅga; the shadows recede as the group adopts humble postures, symbolizing inner conversion.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (implied as the object of praise/recitation)
• Brāhmaṇas (as a dharmic category)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text stresses the transformative power of sacred devotion: even grave wrongdoing can be remedied through sincere turning toward the divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate focus is not a named tirtha but the dharmic efficacy of Śiva-nāma within the Dharmāraṇya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The implied prescription is expiation via recitation/hearing of the praised divine names, framed as pāpa-pranāśana.