Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

सर्वनाशो भवेत्तस्य भस्मीभवति तत्क्षणात् । तस्मात्सर्वः कुलाचारः स्थानाचारस्तथैव च

Transliteration

sarvanāśo bhavettasya bhasmībhavati tatkṣaṇāt | tasmātsarvaḥ kulācāraḥ sthānācārastathaiva ca

Translation

അത്തരം വ്യക്തിക്ക് സമ്പൂർണ്ണ നാശം സംഭവിക്കുന്നു; ആ ക്ഷണത്തിൽ തന്നെ അവൻ ഭസ്മമായതുപോലെ ആകുന്നു. അതിനാൽ കുലാചാരവും സ്ഥലാനുസൃതമായ ആചാരവും ഉറപ്പായി പാലിക്കണം।

Word by Word

• सर्वनाशः: total destruction
• सर्वनाशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + नाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष (सर्वः नाशः)

• भवेत्: would occur/become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• भस्मीभवति: turns to ashes
• भस्मीभवति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भस्मी + भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; नामधातु-प्रयोग (भस्मी-भू = to become ashes)

• तत्क्षणात्: immediately/at that moment
• तत्क्षणात्: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे तत्पुरुष (तस्मिन् क्षणे/ततः क्षणात्)

• तस्मात्: therefore/from that
• तस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (therefore/from that)

• सर्वः: all/entire
• सर्वः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (कुलाचारः)

• कुलाचारः: family custom
• कुलाचारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल + आचार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कुलस्य आचारः)

• स्थानाचारः: local custom
• स्थानाचारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान + आचार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (स्थानस्य आचारः)

• तथा: thus/likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: thus/so)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphasis)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; didactic instruction within Dharmāraṇya Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājan (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark moral image: a person who abandons ācāra is shown as a figure crumbling into ash; beside him, a stable household/temple scene where kula-ācāra and sthāna-ācāra are observed.

Characters & Entities

• Kulācāra
• Sthānācāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is sustained through lived practice—abandoning inherited and local dharmic norms is depicted as spiritually and socially catastrophic.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya is the broader sacred setting; the verse stresses sthānācāra—proper conduct in a holy place.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The instruction is to preserve kulācāra and sthānācāra; no discrete rite (snāna/dāna/japa) is specified.