Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

स्वसृदुहितृभगिनीकुलदारोपबृंहणम् । आ जन्ममरणाद्यावत्पापं भरतसत्तम

Transliteration

svasṛduhitṛbhaginīkuladāropabṛṃhaṇam | ā janmamaraṇādyāvatpāpaṃ bharatasattama

Translation

स्वस्र, कन्या, भगिनी, नातलग स्त्रिया वा कुलवधू यांच्याशी संग केल्याने होणारे पाप, हे भरतश्रेष्ठा, जन्म-मरणाच्या फेर्‍यापर्यंत टिकून राहते।

Word by Word

• स्वसृ: of (one's) sister
• स्वसृ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वसृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (पूर्वपद)

• दुहितृ: of (one's) daughter
• दुहितृ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुहितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (पूर्वपद)

• भगिनी: of (one's) sister
• भगिनी: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (पूर्वपद)

• कुल: of the family
• कुल: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (पूर्वपद)

• दार: of (one's) wife/wives
• दार: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (बहुवचनान्त-प्रातिपदिक), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासाङ्ग (पूर्वपद)

• उपबृंहणम्: nourishing/supporting (of sister, daughter, sister, family, wife)
• उपबृंहणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उप-√बृंह् (धातु) + ल्युट् (प्रत्यय) → उपबृंहण (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/Acc. possible by context), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषसमासः (स्वसृ-दुहितृ-भगिनी-कुल-दार-उपबृंहणम्)

• आ: up to, until
• आ: Adhikarana (Limit/अवधि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्ग/अव्यय (limit-marker: 'up to')

• जन्म: of birth
• जन्म: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (पूर्वपद)

• मरण: of death
• मरण: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (पूर्वपद)

• आदि: etc., beginning with
• आदि: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (पूर्वपद)

• यावत्: as long as, up to the extent
• यावत्: Adhikarana (Extent/पर्यन्त)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधि-वाचक ('as long as')

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/Acc.), एकवचन

• भरतसत्तम: O best of the Bharatas
• भरतसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Revākhaṇḍa narrative style)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: bharatasattama (addressed interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: a remorseful sinner confronted by Dharma’s warning—saṃsāra as a wheel behind him—foreshadowing the cleansing path of tīrtha and bhakti.

Characters & Entities

• Bharata-sattama (address to a Bhārata hero)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Violations of familial sexual ethics are portrayed as deeply binding karmas that prolong suffering and rebirth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly the Revā-kṣetra tīrthas, whose purifying power is being framed against even severe sins.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual; it emphasizes the gravity and long-lasting karmic weight of certain transgressions.