Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

निंदको नास्तिको वापि कूटसाक्ष्यप्रवादकः । अभक्ष्यभक्षको वापि तथाऽविक्रेय विक्रयी

Transliteration

niṃdako nāstiko vāpi kūṭasākṣyapravādakaḥ | abhakṣyabhakṣako vāpi tathā'vikreya vikrayī

Translation

たとえ誹謗する者であれ、不信心の者であれ、偽証を言い広める者であれ；禁じられたものを食する者であれ、さらには決して売ってはならぬものを売る者であれ—

Word by Word

• निंदकः: a reviler/slanderer
• निंदकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निंदक (प्रातिपदिक; √निन्द् (धातु) + ण्वुल्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्तरि-प्रयोगे कर्तृवाचक-नाम (agent noun)

• नास्तिकः: an atheist/denier
• नास्तिकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नास्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle: 'or')

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक-निपात (particle: 'also/even')

• कूटसाक्ष्यप्रवादकः: one who gives/utters false testimony
• कूटसाक्ष्यप्रवादकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूट (प्रातिपदिक) + साक्ष्य (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रवादक (प्रातिपदिक; √वद् (धातु) + ण्वुल्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कूटस्य साक्ष्यस्य प्रवादकः = false-testimony proclaimer)

• अभक्ष्यभक्षकः: eater of forbidden food
• अभक्ष्यभक्षकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अभक्ष्य (प्रातिपदिक) + भक्षक (प्रातिपदिक; √भक्ष् (धातु) + ण्वुल्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अभक्ष्यस्य भक्षकः)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक-निपात

• तथा: likewise/so
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: रीत्यर्थक-अव्यय (adverb: 'thus/likewise')

• अविक्रेयः: not to be sold
• अविक्रेयः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अविक्रेय (प्रातिपदिक; नञ्-पूर्वक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (not to be sold)

• विक्रयी: a seller (one who sells)
• विक्रयी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विक्रयिन् (प्रातिपदिक; √क्री (धातु) + णिनि/इन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि-प्रयोगे कर्तृवाचक-नाम

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśī Khaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: figures representing slander, atheism, false witness, forbidden eating, and unethical trade stand at the threshold of Kāśī, confronted by the looming presence of a liṅga and the moral weight of their acts.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It lists serious moral transgressions to set up a teaching on how sins may be addressed—while hinting that some offenses are uniquely dangerous.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The context is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, where dharma and expiation are discussed in relation to the sacred kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is stated in this verse; it functions as a catalogue of sins leading into the prāyaścitta teaching that follows.