Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21
युवां निरागसावद्य केन पापेन सायकैः । निहतौ वै तपोनिष्ठौ मत्प्राणौ मद्गुरू वने
yuvāṃ nirāgasāvadya kena pāpena sāyakaiḥ | nihatau vai taponiṣṭhau matprāṇau madgurū vane
നിങ്ങൾ ഇരുവരും നിർപരാധികളും നിർദോഷികളും—ഏത് പാപം കൊണ്ടാണ് അമ്പുകളാൽ ഹതരായത്? തപോനിഷ്ഠർ, എന്റെ പ്രാണസ്വരൂപർ, എന്റെ ഗുരുക്കന്മാർ—ആ വനത്തിൽ തന്നെയായി വീണുപോയി।
The son of the slain ascetic couple
Listener: viprāḥ (brāhmaṇas)
Scene: A grieving son stands over the bodies of two tapasvins (father and mother) pierced by arrows; the forest-āśrama is quiet, with a cave nearby; the unseen king’s presence is implied by bow and arrows; the son’s lament is accusatory yet devotional.
FAQs
To injure the blameless—especially tapasvins and gurus—is a severe adharma that provokes deep moral reckoning and the need for atonement.
The story sits within Setukhaṇḍa’s pilgrimage frame (Setu/Rāmeśvaram), though the verse itself is a lament in a forest setting.
None explicitly; the verse prepares the ground for later prāyaścitta (expiation) themes typical in Purāṇic narratives.
Read Skanda Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.