Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

पातकानि च घोराणि यान्यचिन्त्यानि देहिनाम् । पापिष्ठेन तु चैकेन गुरुदारा निषेविता

Transliteration

pātakāni ca ghorāṇi yānyacintyāni dehinām | pāpiṣṭhena tu caikena gurudārā niṣevitā

Translation

“Ada dosa-dosa yang mengerikan, tak terpikirkan bagi makhluk berjasad. Namun seorang yang paling berdosa bahkan menodai istri gurunya.”

Word by Word

• पातकानि: sins/crimes
• पातकानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• घोराणि: terrible
• घोराणि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; पातकानि विशेषणम् (terrible)

• यानि: which
• यानि: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; सम्बन्धक (which)

• अचिन्त्यानि: unthinkable
• अचिन्त्यानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + चिन्त्य (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; चिन्त् + य)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; पातकानि विशेषणम् (unthinkable)

• देहिनाम्: of embodied beings
• देहिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देहिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी बहुवचनम्

• पापिष्ठेन: by the most sinful (one)
• पापिष्ठेन: Karana (Agent/instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पापिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक; पाप + इष्ठन्-तमप्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (by the most sinful)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक (but/indeed)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• एकेन: by one
• एकेन: Karana (Agent/instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम्; (by one)

• गुरुदारा: the teacher’s wife
• गुरुदारा: Karta (Subject of passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + दारा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; (गुरोः दारा) ‘teacher’s wife’

• निषेविता: was violated/consorted with
• निषेविता: Kriya (Predicate in passive/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + सेव् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकालिक कृदन्त (क्त); स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; कर्मणि (was consorted with/served)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual purāṇic voice within Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ṛṣis/dvijas (implied audience from prior verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A speaker describes terrifying, unthinkable sins, culminating in the shocking act of violating the teacher’s wife; the assembly reacts with dread and moral urgency.

Characters & Entities

• Guru
• Pātaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma marks certain acts as extremely destructive (guru-apacāra), setting the stage for highlighting the tīrtha’s extraordinary capacity to purify.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The discussion occurs within the Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-māhātmya in the Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new ritual is prescribed here; the verse enumerates grave pāpa to underscore the need for purification through tīrtha.