Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

ब्रह्महत्यादिपापानां कथंचिन्निष्कृतिर्भवेत् । विश्वस्तघातिनां पापं न नश्येज्जन्मकोटिभिः

Transliteration

brahmahatyādipāpānāṃ kathaṃcinniṣkṛtirbhavet | viśvastaghātināṃ pāpaṃ na naśyejjanmakoṭibhiḥ

Translation

Pour des fautes telles que la brahmahatyā, il peut se trouver, d’une manière ou d’une autre, une expiation. Mais le péché de celui qui trahit un être confiant ne s’éteint pas, même au fil de millions de naissances.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्महत्यादिपापानाम्: of sins such as brahma-murder
• ब्रह्महत्यादिपापानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या-आदि-पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचनम्; ‘ब्रह्महत्यादीनि पापानि’ इति समाहार-तत्पुरुषः (आदि-समास)

• कथंचित्: somehow
• कथंचित्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथंचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (adverb) ‘कथम्’ + ‘चित्’ = ‘somehow/with difficulty’

• निष्कृतिः: expiation
• निष्कृतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निष्कृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्

• भवेत्: may be / could occur
• भवेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• विश्वस्तघातिनाम्: of those who betray one who trusts
• विश्वस्तघातिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वस्त-घातिन् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘विश्वस्त’ = trusted + घातिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचनम्; ‘विश्वस्तस्य घातिनः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचनम्; अत्र कर्तृरूपे (न नश्येत्)

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपातः

• नश्येत्: would perish
• नश्येत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• जन्मकोटिभिः: by crores of births
• जन्मकोटिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्म-कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचनम्; ‘जन्मानां कोटयः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

Speaker

Ṛkṣa (bear; a disguised Bhṛgu-line sage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setukṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience within the frame narrative

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moral tableau contrasting two paths: a penitent for brahmahatyā approaching a sacred fire/river for expiation, while a shadowy figure of trust-betrayal remains chained across many birth-wheels (saṃsāra-cakra).

Characters & Entities

• Brahmahatyā
• Niṣkṛti (expiation)
• Karma
• Saṃsāra (rebirth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Some grave sins may admit expiation, but betraying the trusting is portrayed as uniquely corrosive and long-lasting in karmic effect.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu/Rāmeśvaram’s Setukhaṇḍa frames the teaching, using the sanctified geography as a backdrop for dharmic instruction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse contrasts expiation (niṣkṛti) with the near-inexpiable nature of viśvāsa-ghāta.