Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

स्त्रियश्च पापनिरताः स्वैरि ण्यः कामलालसाः । दुर्बुद्धयः कुटिलगाः सद्गताचारवर्जिताः

Transliteration

striyaśca pāpaniratāḥ svairi ṇyaḥ kāmalālasāḥ | durbuddhayaḥ kuṭilagāḥ sadgatācāravarjitāḥ

Translation

അവിടെ ചില സ്ത്രീകൾ പാപാചാരത്തിൽ ലീനരായി, സ്വേച്ഛാചാരിണികളായി, കാമഭോഗലാലസയോടെ, ദുഷ്ബുദ്ധിയുള്ളവരായി, കപടവഴികളിൽ നടക്കുന്നവരായി, സദാചാരവും സത്പഥവും നൽകുന്ന ശാസനയിൽ നിന്ന് വഞ്ചിതരായിരുന്നു।

Word by Word

• striyaḥ: Women
• striyaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural

• ca: And
• ca: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)

• pāpaniratāḥ: Engrossed in sin
• pāpaniratāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpanirata (pāpa + nirata)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural

• svairiṇyaḥ: Unchaste/Independent women
• svairiṇyaḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svairiṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural

• kāmalālasāḥ: Desirous of lust
• kāmalālasāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāmalālasā (kāma + lālasā)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural

• durbuddhayaḥ: Evil-minded
• durbuddhayaḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durbuddhi (dur + buddhi)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural

• kuṭilagāḥ: Going crooked ways (Deceitful)
• kuṭilagāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kuṭilaga (kuṭila + ga)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural

• sadgatācāravarjitāḥ: Devoid of good conduct
• sadgatācāravarjitāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sadgatācāravarjitā (sadgata + ācāra + varjitā)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural

Speaker

Not explicitly stated in the provided excerpt (Brāhma Khaṇḍa context; speaker cannot be safely deduced from this single verse alone).

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau of moral disorder: women depicted as abandoning sadācāra, with visual contrast to an idealized figure of dharma (lamp, scripture, modest posture) in the background.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It stresses that abandoning righteous conduct (sadgati-ācāra) and becoming driven by desire and deceit leads one into pāpa (sin) and away from wholesome spiritual destiny.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha or sacred geography is named in this verse; it functions as a general dharma/nīti characterization within the chapter’s discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it contains ethical description rather than instructions on snāna, dāna, japa, vrata, or pilgrimage.