Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

परद्रव्यापहरणं परदाराभिमर्शनम् । परनिंदा परक्षेत्रहरणं परपीडनम्

Transliteration

paradravyāpaharaṇaṃ paradārābhimarśanam | paraniṃdā parakṣetraharaṇaṃ parapīḍanam

Translation

പരധനം അപഹരിക്കൽ, പരസ്ത്രീയെ സ്പർശിച്ച് മലിനമാക്കൽ, പരനിന്ദ, പരരുടെ കൃഷിഭൂമി കവർന്നെടുക്കൽ, പരപീഡനം—ഇവ പാപകർമ്മങ്ങളാണ്.

Word by Word

• परद्रव्यापहरणम्: stealing another’s property
• परद्रव्यापहरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + द्रव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अपहरण (प्रातिपदिक; √हृ (धातु) उपसर्ग अप- + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (परस्य द्रव्यस्य अपहरणम्)

• परदाराभिमर्शनम्: touching/violating another’s wife
• परदाराभिमर्शनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + दारा (प्रातिपदिक) + अभिमर्शन (प्रातिपदिक; √मृश् (धातु) उपसर्ग अभि- + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (परस्य दारान् अभिमर्शनम्)

• परनिन्दा: slandering others
• परनिन्दा: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + निन्दा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (परस्य निन्दा)

• परक्षेत्रहरणम्: seizing another’s land/field
• परक्षेत्रहरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + हरण (प्रातिपदिक; √हृ (धातु) + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (परस्य क्षेत्रस्य हरणम्)

• परपीडनम्: oppressing others
• परपीडनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + पीडन (प्रातिपदिक; √पीड् (धातु) + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (परस्य पीडनम्)

Speaker

Deductive attribution: Purāṇic narrator (likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition within Brāhma Khaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: a sage-teacher enumerates five social sins; behind him symbolic vignettes show theft, illicit approach to another’s spouse, slanderous speech, boundary-stone seizure, and assault—each shadowed by dark karmic smoke.

Characters & Entities

• Dharma
• Pātaka (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma identifies concrete social and personal harms as pātakas (sins) that obstruct spiritual welfare.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named; the verse enumerates adharma-actions.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription here; it lists sins in the wider discussion of purification.