Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

अपराधसहस्रेपि ब्राह्मणं योपराध्नुयात् । दिनैः कतिपयैरेव तस्यैश्वर्यं विनश्यति

Transliteration

aparādhasahasrepi brāhmaṇaṃ yoparādhnuyāt | dinaiḥ katipayaireva tasyaiśvaryaṃ vinaśyati

Translation

Quand bien même il aurait commis mille fautes, si quelqu’un offense un brāhmaṇa, en quelques jours seulement sa prospérité et sa fortune souveraine sont anéanties.

Word by Word

• अपराध: in/with an offense
• अपराध: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपराध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; 'अपराधे' इत्यर्थे (locative of circumstance)

• सहस्रे: in a thousand (cases)
• सहस्रे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; 'सहस्रे' (in a thousand)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle); अपि = even/also

• ब्राह्मणम्: a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मपद

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-यः (relative pronoun)

• अपराध्नुयात्: should offend
• अपराध्नुयात्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अपराध् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; 'अपराध्नुयात्' = should offend/commit offense

• दिनैः: by (a few) days / within days
• दिनैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; करण/काल-निर्देश

• कतिपयैः: a few
• कतिपयैः: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कतिपय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; 'दिनैः' इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• ऐश्वर्यम्: prosperity/power
• ऐश्वर्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऐश्वर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृपद (intransitive verb 'vinaśyati' with subject)

• विनश्यति: perishes/is destroyed
• विनश्यति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विनश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (Deveśa) (deduced from immediate context: gaṇas reacting as Deveśa speaks)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic court-like scene in Kāśī: a figure warned by a sage/brāhmaṇa, with Lakṣmī (Śrī) symbolically departing as prosperity fades.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Śiva (Deveśa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic dharma treats harm to brāhmaṇas as spiritually ruinous; such offense swiftly destroys prosperity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where dharma is taught as part of Kāśī’s sanctifying greatness.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; it is an ethical injunction warning against brāhmaṇa-aparādha.