Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

शताश्वमेधसंज्ञं च यत्फलं तव दुर्मते । तन्नष्टं तत्क्षणादेव घातितो हि द्विजो यदा

Transliteration

śatāśvamedhasaṃjñaṃ ca yatphalaṃ tava durmate | tannaṣṭaṃ tatkṣaṇādeva ghātito hi dvijo yadā

Translation

Ô insensé égaré, tout le mérite que tu possédais—réputé égal à cent sacrifices Aśvamedha—fut anéanti à l’instant même où le brāhmaṇa fut mis à mort.

Word by Word

• śata-aśvamedha-saṃjñam: named ‘hundred Aśvamedhas’
• śata-aśvamedha-saṃjñam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + aśvamedha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃjñā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘यत्फलम्’ इत्यस्य

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक—‘phalam’ इत्यनेन सह

• phalam: fruit, result
• phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• tava: of you, your
• tava: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• durmate: O evil-minded one
• durmate: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durmati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ‘naṣṭam’ इत्यस्य विशेष्य/अनुवृत्ति

• naṣṭam: destroyed, lost
• naṣṭam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Predicative (Result state)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: naṣṭa (कृदन्त; √naś (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ‘tat’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• tat-kṣaṇāt: from that very moment
• tat-kṣaṇāt: Apādāna (Ablative source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; अपादानार्थे (from that moment)

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• ghātitaḥ: killed, caused to be slain
• ghātitaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Predicative (State of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghātita (कृदन्त; √han (धातु) णिच् → ghātayati + क्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘dvijaḥ’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• hi: indeed, for
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; emphasis/causal nuance)

• dvijaḥ: a Brahmin (twice-born)
• dvijaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• yadā: when
• yadā: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Bṛhaspati (deduced; continuing admonition regarding Indra’s sin)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra-kṣetra (Kedāranātha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stern admonition delivered to a fallen, guilt-marked figure: the moment of brahmin-slaying is shown as a flash where accumulated sacrificial merit collapses like a shattered aura.

Characters & Entities

• Aśvamedha
• Dvija (Brāhmaṇa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even enormous ritual merit is nullified by a single grave transgression; moral purity safeguards spiritual “capital.”

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within Kedāra-khaṇḍa’s sacred narrative framework, but it primarily teaches dharma rather than praising a single named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new rite is prescribed; Aśvamedha is referenced as a benchmark for merit to show how quickly it can be lost.