Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

यतः सर्वः क्षत्रियस्य दंड्यो विपथिसंस्थि तः । आत्मापिदंड्यः साधूनां प्रवृत्तः कुपथाद्यदि

Transliteration

yataḥ sarvaḥ kṣatriyasya daṃḍyo vipathisaṃsthi taḥ | ātmāpidaṃḍyaḥ sādhūnāṃ pravṛttaḥ kupathādyadi

Translation

കുപഥത്തിൽ നിലകൊള്ളുന്ന ഏവനും ക്ഷത്രിയനാൽ ദണ്ഡനീയനാകുന്നു; സ്വന്തം ആത്മാവുതന്നെ ദുഷ്പഥത്തിലേക്ക് തിരിയുകയാണെങ്കിൽ, സജ്ജനരുടെ ദൃഷ്ടിയിൽ അതും ദണ്ഡനീയമാകും।

Word by Word

• yataḥ: because, since
• yataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थे (causal/"because")

• sarvaḥ: all, every
• sarvaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (सर्व-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• kṣatriyasya: of the kṣatriya
• kṣatriyasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣatriya (क्षत्रिय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• daṇḍyaḥ: punishable
• daṇḍyaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daṇḍya (दण्ड्य-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicative adjective)

• vipathi-saṃsthi-taḥ: from being situated on the wrong path / from wrong conduct
• vipathi-saṃsthi-taḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vipathi (विपथि-प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsthi (संस्थि-प्रातिपदिक) + taḥ (तस्-प्रत्यय/अव्यय)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (locative-based); अव्यय-रूप (ablatival adverb)

• ātmā: the self
• ātmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (आत्मन्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-भाव (also/even)

• daṇḍyaḥ: punishable
• daṇḍyaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daṇḍya (दण्ड्य-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण

• sādhūnām: of the good people / of the righteous
• sādhūnām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhu (साधु-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• pravṛttaḥ: engaged, having proceeded
• pravṛttaḥ: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra√vṛt (प्र+वृत्-धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kupathāt: from the wrong path
• kupathāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kupatha (कुपथ-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्तार्थक (conditional)

Speaker

Bhīmasena

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic courtly scene: a kṣatriya-king holding the daṇḍa (scepter/staff of justice) while a sage points to a forked road—one bright (satpatha), one dark (kupatha)—signifying external law and inner moral scrutiny.

Characters & Entities

• Bhīmasena
• Kṣatriya
• Sādhus

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Righteous governance and personal ethics both demand correction of wrongdoing—externally by just authority and internally through self-accountability.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned; the focus is kṣatra-dharma and moral responsibility.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it speaks of daṇḍa (discipline/punishment) as a dharmic principle.