Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

निन्दां कुर्वंति ये पापा वैष्णवानां महात्मनाम् । तेषां निरयपातस्तु यावदाभूतसंप्लवम्

Transliteration

nindāṃ kurvaṃti ye pāpā vaiṣṇavānāṃ mahātmanām | teṣāṃ nirayapātastu yāvadābhūtasaṃplavam

Translation

Les pécheurs qui diffament les Vaiṣṇavas à la grande âme tombent en enfer; et leur chute dure jusqu’à la dissolution cosmique.

Word by Word

• निन्दां: slander
• निन्दां: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निन्दा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Accusative, Singular)

• कुर्वन्ति: do/commit
• कुर्वन्ति: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (Present Indicative, 3rd pl.)

• ये: those who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• पापाः: sinful people
• पापाः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• वैष्णवानाम्: of Vaiṣṇavas
• वैष्णवानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैष्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Genitive, Plural)

• महात्मनाम्: of great-souled ones
• महात्मनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठī)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Genitive, Plural)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Genitive, Plural)

• निरयपातः: fall into hell
• निरयपातः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निरय + पात (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular); तत्पुरुष (निरये पातः / निरयस्य पातः)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• यावत्: until
• यावत्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time limit/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधि-वाचक-अव्यय (until/as long as)

• आभूतसंप्लवम्: up to the cosmic dissolution
• आभूतसंप्लवम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal extent/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आ + भूत + संप्लव (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Singular); तत्पुरुष (आभूतः संप्लवः = प्रलयः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Dvārakā Māhātmya; specific speaker not stated in the verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā-kṣetra (Vaiṣṇava-satkara-dharma)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee (Vaiṣṇava) serene with tilaka and mālā; a slanderer speaks harshly; the words become dark serpentine forms leading to a chasm labeled ‘niraya’; above, cosmic waters of dissolution hint at the vast duration of the fall.

Characters & Entities

• Vaiṣṇavas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotee-respect is essential; slandering saintly Vaiṣṇavas is portrayed as a grave offense with severe karmic consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching appears within Dvārakā Māhātmya, linking right conduct toward devotees with the sanctity of Dvārakā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A behavioral injunction: avoid vaiṣṇava-nindā and cultivate reverence toward the mahātma devotees.