Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

यः स्त्रीं भजति पापात्मा वृथा पाशुपतव्रती । सोऽतीतान्दश चाधाय पुरुषान्नरके पचेत्

Transliteration

yaḥ strīṃ bhajati pāpātmā vṛthā pāśupatavratī | so'tītāndaśa cādhāya puruṣānnarake pacet

Translation

ਜੋ ਪਾਪੀ ਆਤਮਾ ਪਾਸ਼ੁਪਤ ਵਰਤ ਦਾ ਦਾਅਵਾ ਕਰਕੇ ਵੀ ਝੂਠੀ ਦਿਖਾਵਟ ਨਾਲ ਇਸਤ੍ਰੀ-ਸੰਗ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ, ਉਹ ਦਸ ਹੋਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਵੀ ਡੁਬੋ ਕੇ ਨਰਕ ਵਿੱਚ ਪਕਾਇਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• strīm: a woman
• strīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• bhajati: associates with / enjoys / has intercourse with
• bhajati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhaj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• pāpātmā: sinful-souled person
• pāpātmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa + ātman (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—पापः आत्मा यस्य/पापात्मा

• vṛthā: in vain
• vṛthā: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vṛthā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• pāśupata-vratī: one observing the Pāśupata vow
• pāśupata-vratī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāśupata + vratin (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—पाशुपतं व्रतं यस्य सः

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; संकेत-सर्वनाम (demonstrative pronoun)

• atītān: departed / dead
• atītān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: atīta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √i + ati, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past participle)

• daśa: teeth
• daśa: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; ‘दशन्’ (tooth) शब्दस्य रूपम्

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• ādhāya: having placed / having set
• ādhāya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√dhā (धातु; ल्यप्/क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यप् अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘आधाय’ = स्थापयित्वा/निक्षिप्य

• puruṣān: men / persons
• puruṣān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• narake: in hell
• narake: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• pacet: would cook / would be tormented
• pacet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pac (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Tāpasa (ascetic)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Contextual) Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A severe ascetic branded as Pāśupata is shown as hypocritical; shadowy figures (the ‘ten others’) are dragged toward a blazing naraka cauldron—an allegory of moral contagion and karmic consequence.

Characters & Entities

• Pāśupata
• naraka (hell)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hypocrisy in religious vows is treated as especially destructive: it harms both the practitioner and others, bringing severe karmic consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the teaching appears within the broader Tīrthamāhātmya narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The implied prescription is strict: a Pāśupata vratī must not violate brahmacarya; otherwise the act becomes ‘vṛthā’ (vain) and incurs grave karmaphala.