Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

अष्टमस्त्वेष पापिष्ठः पापिष्ठानां च संभवः । सवर्णया करो ग्राह्यो धार्यः क्षत्रियया शरः

Transliteration

aṣṭamastveṣa pāpiṣṭhaḥ pāpiṣṭhānāṃ ca saṃbhavaḥ | savarṇayā karo grāhyo dhāryaḥ kṣatriyayā śaraḥ

Translation

Ce huitième (Paiśāca) est le plus pécheur et une source d’où naissent d’autres fautes. Pour une femme de la même varṇa, la peine est dite être la « prise de la main » ; pour une femme kṣatriya, il est prescrit de porter la flèche en châtiment.

Word by Word

• aṣṭamaḥ: the eighth
• aṣṭamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषणम्

• tu: but
• tu: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक-निपात (particle)

• eṣaḥ: this (one)
• eṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• pāpiṣṭhaḥ: most sinful
• pāpiṣṭhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तमप्-प्रत्ययान्त (superlative)

• pāpiṣṭhānām: of the most sinful (people)
• pāpiṣṭhānām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• saṃbhavaḥ: origin / offspring
• saṃbhavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक; √bhū धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• savarṇayā: by a woman of the same varṇa
• savarṇayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: savarṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/तृतीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• karaḥ: the hand
• karaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• grāhyaḥ: should be taken
• grāhyaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √grah (ग्रह्, धातु)
• Form: यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive/भाव्य), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विध्यर्थः ‘ग्रहणीयः’

• dhāryaḥ: should be held
• dhāryaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dhṛ (धृ, धातु)
• Form: यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विध्यर्थः ‘धारणीयः’

• kṣatriyayā: by a Kṣatriya woman
• kṣatriyayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣatriyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/तृतीया), एकवचन

• śaraḥ: an arrow
• śaraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन

Speaker

Parāśara

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dharma-court or sabhā: elders and a king/judge figure; symbolic representations of penalties (hand restraint, arrow) shown as emblems rather than graphic violence; the condemned act shown only as a small, shadowed inset to keep focus on deterrence and justice.

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text frames deceitful, harmful unions as spiritually destructive and socially punishable, warning that one sin breeds further sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is referenced; this is a dharma-judgment passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not a ritual but a punitive norm: stated penalties associated with grave misconduct, expressed in varṇa terms.