Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

ब्रह्महत्यासमं पापं न भूतं न भविष्यति । वरं कुर्वन्ध्रुवं देवि न कुर्याद्वेदविक्रयम्

Transliteration

brahmahatyāsamaṃ pāpaṃ na bhūtaṃ na bhaviṣyati | varaṃ kurvandhruvaṃ devi na kuryādvedavikrayam

Translation

Aucun péché, ni jadis ni à venir, n’égale la brahma-hatyā, le meurtre d’un brāhmaṇa. C’est pourquoi, ô Déesse, même en poursuivant son avantage, qu’on ne se livre jamais à la vente du Veda.

Word by Word

• brahma-hatyā-samam: equal to brahma-hatya (killing a Brahmin)
• brahma-hatyā-samam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + hatyā (प्रातिपदिक) + sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः ‘ब्रह्महत्यया समम्’ (equal to brahma-murder)

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• bhūtam: (has) been / existed (in the past)
• bhūtam: Pradhāna-vākya-artha (Predicate nominal/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √bhū)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; भूतकालवाचि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (that which has been/past)

• na: nor
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• bhaviṣyati: will be
• bhaviṣyati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: लृट् (simple future); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन

• varam: better (to do)
• varam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन; अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः ‘वरम्’ = better (preferably)

• kurvan: doing
• kurvan: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kurvat (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √kṛ)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• dhruvam: certainly
• dhruvam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (certainly)

• devi: O Goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन

• veda-vikrayam: sale of the Veda
• veda-vikrayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + vikraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘वेदस्य विक्रयः’

Speaker

Unknown (within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya dialogue; addressed to ‘Devi’)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher holds a Veda manuscript close to the heart while turning away from a tempting pile of coins; behind, a shadowy figure of ‘brahmahatyā’ as a dark stain looms, emphasizing the gravity of the choice.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Brahmahatyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Commercializing the Veda is condemned as an extreme wrongdoing, likened to the gravest sins.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs in the Prabhāsa Kṣetra Māhātmya context, connecting moral purity with sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A strict dharmic restraint: do not sell the Veda or Vedic rites as a transaction.