Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

कुमारीसाहसं घोरमंत्यजस्त्रीनिषेवणम् । सवर्णायाश्च गमनं गुरुतल्पसमं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

kumārīsāhasaṃ ghoramaṃtyajastrīniṣevaṇam | savarṇāyāśca gamanaṃ gurutalpasamaṃ smṛtam

Translation

Violer une jeune fille, fréquenter une femme d’une communauté proscrite, et s’approcher d’une femme de son propre proche lignage—sont tenus en mémoire pour aussi graves que le péché de souiller le lit du maître.

Word by Word

• kumārī-sāhasam: outrage/violence against a maiden
• kumārī-sāhasam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumārī (प्रातिपदिक) + sāhasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (कुमार्याः साहसम्)

• ghoram: terrible
• ghoram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• antyaja-strī-niṣevaṇam: sexual intercourse with an outcaste woman
• antyaja-strī-niṣevaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antyaja (प्रातिपदिक) + strī (प्रातिपदिक) + niṣevaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अन्त्यजस्त्रियाः निषेवणम्)

• sa-varṇāyāḥ: of a woman of the same caste
• sa-varṇāyāḥ: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa (उपसर्ग/अव्यय-तुल्य) + varṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (सवर्णा = समानवर्णा)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• gamanam: going/sexual approach
• gamanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (ल्युट्-प्रत्यय, भाववाचक); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• guru-tulpa-samam: equal to violating the teacher’s bed (guru-talpa sin)
• guru-tulpa-samam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक) + talpa (प्रातिपदिक) + sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (गुरुतल्पेन समम्)

• smṛtam: is considered/declared
• smṛtam: Predicate (Vidheyā/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; अर्थः—‘(इति) स्मृतम्’ = is declared/considered

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvara Khaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark moral allegory: a maiden protected by attendants; a transgressor halted by a blazing dharma-fire or a guardian with spear; a guru’s seat/bed symbol appears as a sacred boundary line; the atmosphere is tense and cautionary.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It warns that certain sexual transgressions are spiritually catastrophic and are to be treated with the utmost gravity in dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a general dharma-śikṣā (ethical instruction) within the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the verse classifies deeds by severity (pāpa-bheda) for ethical and penitential discernment.