Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

यस्तु पापेन संमूढः सुखं सुप्तं प्रबोधयेत् । जायते तस्य पापस्य ब्रह्महत्याफलं महत्

Transliteration

yastu pāpena saṃmūḍhaḥ sukhaṃ suptaṃ prabodhayet | jāyate tasya pāpasya brahmahatyāphalaṃ mahat

Translation

പാപമോഹത്തിൽ മൂടപ്പെട്ടവൻ സുഖമായി ഉറങ്ങുന്നവനെ ഉണർത്തുകയാണെങ്കിൽ, ആ പാപത്തിന്റെ ഫലം അതിമഹത്തായതു—ബ്രഹ്മഹത്യാഫലത്തോടു തുല്യം.

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

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

• पापेन: by sin
• पापेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• संमूढः: deluded
• संमूढः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + मुह् (धातु) → संमूढ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• सुखम्: comfort/pleasure
• सुखम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मपद

• सुप्तम्: sleeping
• सुप्तम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वप् (धातु) → सुप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सुखम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषण

• प्रबोधयेत्: should awaken
• प्रबोधयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + बुध् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• जायते: arises/is produced
• जायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• तस्य: of him/of that
• तस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• पापस्य: of the sin
• पापस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• ब्रह्महत्याफलम्: the fruit of brahma-slaying (brahmahatyā)
• ब्रह्महत्याफलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या + फल (प्रातिपदिक); घटक: ब्रह्महत्या (स्त्री) + फल (नपुं)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ब्रह्महत्यायाः फलम्)

• महत्: great
• महत्: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ब्रह्महत्याफलम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (a devotee/traveler) to a King (rājan)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-cycle

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: An inquiring sage/assembly typical of Purāṇic narration (not specified in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night or early dawn at a riverside āśrama: a peaceful sleeper on a mat; a morally conflicted figure hesitates, the air heavy with dharma; subtle aura of sin as a shadow.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmahatyā (sin of killing a brāhmaṇa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unnecessary disturbance of another’s peace is treated as grave adharma; self-control is a core Purāṇic virtue.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse functions as dharma-instruction within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative; it does not specify a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a prohibition/warning (niṣedha) framed as a dharma consequence.