Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

सर्वपापप्रशमनं सर्वशांतिकरं परम् । यस्य श्रवणमात्रेण ब्रह्महत्या विनश्यति

Transliteration

sarvapāpapraśamanaṃ sarvaśāṃtikaraṃ param | yasya śravaṇamātreṇa brahmahatyā vinaśyati

Translation

C’est le moyen suprême qui apaise tous les péchés et procure toute paix; par la seule écoute, même le péché de meurtre d’un brāhmane est anéanti.

Word by Word

• sarva-pāpa-praśamanam: the pacification of all sins
• sarva-pāpa-praśamanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva + pāpa + praśamana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—सर्वेषां पापानां प्रशमनम्

• sarva-śānti-karam: bringing all peace
• sarva-śānti-karam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva + śānti + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—सर्वां शान्तिं करोति इति

• param: supreme
• param: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• yasya: of which/whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative)

• śravaṇa-mātreṇa: by mere hearing
• śravaṇa-mātreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śravaṇa + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—श्रवणमेव मात्रम्

• brahmahatyā: Brahmin-slaying (sin)
• brahmahatyā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmahatyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• vinaśyati: perishes/is destroyed
• vinaśyati: Kriya (Predicate action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + √naś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; वि-उपसर्गपूर्वक √नश् (to perish)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; likely Skanda speaking within Kāśīkhaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A recitation assembly: a paurāṇika recites; listeners sit with folded hands; a dark cloud labeled ‘brahmahatyā’ dissolves into light as peace spreads across faces.

Characters & Entities

• Śravaṇa (hearing)
• Brahmahatyā (brahmin-slaying)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional listening (śravaṇa) to sacred Purāṇic teaching is portrayed as a powerful purifier that restores peace and dissolves even grave demerit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it states a general Purāṇic doctrine of merit through śravaṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa—attentive hearing of the sacred account—is the implied practice, emphasized as effective even without additional rites.