Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मशापप्रदग्धा ये ये चैवात्महनो द्विजाः । भ्रष्टानशनसंन्यासनियतव्रतचारिणः

Transliteration

brahmaśāpapradagdhā ye ye caivātmahano dvijāḥ | bhraṣṭānaśanasaṃnyāsaniyatavratacāriṇaḥ

Translation

ब्रह्मशापप्रदग्धा ये, ये चैवात्महनो द्विजाः; भ्रष्टानशनसंन्यासनियतव्रतचारिणः—(तेऽपि अत्र परिगण्यन्ते)।

Word by Word

• brahmaśāpapradagdhāḥ: burnt by Brahma’s curse
• brahmaśāpapradagdhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahma (प्रातिपदिक) + śāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + pradagdha (कृदन्त; प्र-उपसर्ग + √dah धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (brahmaśāpena pradagdhāḥ); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (those ‘burnt by Brahma’s curse’)

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; पुनरुक्त-समुच्चय

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• ātmahānaḥ: self-killers (suicides)
• ātmahānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक) + han (धातु √han ‘to kill’; घञ्/अण्-प्रत्ययान्त ‘hā’ as agent)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (ātmānaṃ hanti iti); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• dvijāḥ: twice-born (Brahmins etc.)
• dvijāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• bhraṣṭa: fallen (from)
• bhraṣṭa: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhraṣṭa (कृदन्त; √bhraṃś/√bhraṣ ‘to fall’, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (fallen/deviated)

• anaśana: fasting
• anaśana: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anaśana (प्रातिपदिक; a- + aśana ‘eating’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (of fasting)

• saṃnyāsa: renunciation
• saṃnyāsa: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃnyāsa (प्रातिपदिक; सम्-नि-√as/√nyas भाव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (of renunciation)

• niyata: prescribed
• niyata: Sambandha (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niyata (कृदन्त/विशेषण; नि-√yam, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-समासाङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; ‘prescribed/regulated’

• vrata: vow
• vrata: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (of vows)

• cāriṇaḥ: practitioners
• cāriṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cārin (प्रातिपदिक; √car धातु, इन्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘practitioners/followers’

Speaker

Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā), inferred (continues the plea listing categories of grave sinners prior to Viṣṇu’s response)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: sages / Revā-māhātmya audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fallen ascetic with torn deer-skin and downcast eyes stands at the river, while a luminous rishi gestures toward the water; faint fiery aura symbolizes ‘Brahma-śāpa’; after bathing, the ascetic dons clean cloth and begins japa under a tree.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Dvija

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even severe spiritual downfall—curses, self-destructive acts, and breaking sacred disciplines—is acknowledged as redeemable through proper refuge and purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā (Narmadā) and her tīrtha-field, within the Revā Khaṇḍa of the Āvantya Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse references disciplines (fasting, renunciation, vows) but does not prescribe a specific rite; it frames the need for purification.