Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

ब्रह्महत्यादिपापानां कथंचिन्निष्कृतिर्भवेत् । विश्वस्तघातिनां पापं न नश्येज्जन्मकोटिभिः

Transliteration

brahmahatyādipāpānāṃ kathaṃcinniṣkṛtirbhavet | viśvastaghātināṃ pāpaṃ na naśyejjanmakoṭibhiḥ

Translation

ബ്രഹ്മഹത്യാദി പാപങ്ങൾക്ക് എങ്ങനെയെങ്കിലും പ്രായശ്ചിത്തം ലഭിക്കാം; എന്നാൽ വിശ്വസിച്ചവനെ വഞ്ചിച്ചു ഘാതിക്കുന്നവന്റെ പാപം കോടി ജന്മങ്ങളാലും നശിക്കുകയില്ല.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्महत्यादिपापानाम्: of sins such as brahma-murder
• ब्रह्महत्यादिपापानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या-आदि-पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचनम्; ‘ब्रह्महत्यादीनि पापानि’ इति समाहार-तत्पुरुषः (आदि-समास)

• कथंचित्: somehow
• कथंचित्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथंचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (adverb) ‘कथम्’ + ‘चित्’ = ‘somehow/with difficulty’

• निष्कृतिः: expiation
• निष्कृतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निष्कृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्

• भवेत्: may be / could occur
• भवेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• विश्वस्तघातिनाम्: of those who betray one who trusts
• विश्वस्तघातिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वस्त-घातिन् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘विश्वस्त’ = trusted + घातिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचनम्; ‘विश्वस्तस्य घातिनः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचनम्; अत्र कर्तृरूपे (न नश्येत्)

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपातः

• नश्येत्: would perish
• नश्येत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• जन्मकोटिभिः: by crores of births
• जन्मकोटिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्म-कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचनम्; ‘जन्मानां कोटयः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

Speaker

Ṛkṣa (bear; a disguised Bhṛgu-line sage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setukṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience within the frame narrative

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moral tableau contrasting two paths: a penitent for brahmahatyā approaching a sacred fire/river for expiation, while a shadowy figure of trust-betrayal remains chained across many birth-wheels (saṃsāra-cakra).

Characters & Entities

• Brahmahatyā
• Niṣkṛti (expiation)
• Karma
• Saṃsāra (rebirth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Some grave sins may admit expiation, but betraying the trusting is portrayed as uniquely corrosive and long-lasting in karmic effect.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu/Rāmeśvaram’s Setukhaṇḍa frames the teaching, using the sanctified geography as a backdrop for dharmic instruction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse contrasts expiation (niṣkṛti) with the near-inexpiable nature of viśvāsa-ghāta.