Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

मार्कंडेय उवाच । दशानां ब्राह्मणेंद्राणां यद्वधे पातकं स्मृतम् । तत्पापं स्त्रीवधे कृत्स्नं जायते भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

mārkaṃḍeya uvāca | daśānāṃ brāhmaṇeṃdrāṇāṃ yadvadhe pātakaṃ smṛtam | tatpāpaṃ strīvadhe kṛtsnaṃ jāyate bharatarṣabha

Translation

मार्कण्डेय उवाच—दशानां ब्राह्मणेन्द्राणां वधे यत् पातकं स्मृतम्, तत् पापं स्त्रीवधे कृत्स्नं जायते, हे भरतर्षभ।

Word by Word

• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Mārkaṇḍeya
• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• daśānām: of ten
• daśānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक-विशेषण (numeral adjective: 'of ten')

• brāhmaṇendrāṇām: of the best Brahmins
• brāhmaṇendrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa-indra (प्रातिपदिक: brāhmaṇa + indra)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; 'ब्राह्मणानाम् इन्द्राः' (best among Brahmins)

• yat: which
• yat: Vishaya (Topic/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धे (relative: 'which')

• vadhe: in the killing
• vadhe: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vadha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; विषय/अधिकरणे (locative: 'in the killing')

• pātakam: sin (grave offense)
• pātakam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• smṛtam: is declared/remembered
• smṛtam: Kriya-visheshana (Predicate qualifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicative: 'is said/remembered')

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण (that)

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• strīvadhe: in the killing of a woman
• strīvadhe: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī-vadha (प्रातिपदिक: strī + vadha)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; विषय/अधिकरणे (locative: 'in the killing of a woman')

• kṛtsnam: entire / complete
• kṛtsnam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛtsna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying pāpam)

• jāyate: arises / is produced
• jāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• bharatarṣabha: O bull among the Bharatas
• bharatarṣabha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bharata-ṛṣabha (प्रातिपदिक: bharata + ṛṣabha)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; संबोधनपद

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhīṣma (addressed as Bharatarṣabha)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya delivers a solemn pronouncement; a symbolic tableau shows ten brāhmaṇas on one side and a protected woman on the other, with a scale indicating equivalence of guilt—didactic and severe.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Bharatas
• Brāhmaṇa
• Strī-vadha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Protecting the vulnerable is central to dharma; violence against women is treated as an extremely grave transgression.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not yet; it establishes the gravity of the offense, leading into the recommended means of purification.