Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

नाना विधानि पापानि ब्रह्महत्यादिकानि च । कृतवान्पापिसंगेन त्रयीमार्गविनिन्दकः

Transliteration

nānā vidhāni pāpāni brahmahatyādikāni ca | kṛtavānpāpisaṃgena trayīmārgavinindakaḥ

Translation

पापिसङ्गवशात् स नानाविधानि पापानि ब्रह्महत्यादिकानि च कृतवान्, त्रयीमार्गं निन्दन् वेदपथदूषकः अभवत्।

Word by Word

• नाना: various
• नाना: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाना (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् विशेषणम् (indeclinable adjective)

• विधानि: kinds, types
• विधानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifies ‘पापानि’)

• पापानि: sins
• पापानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• ब्रह्महत्यादिकानि: such as brahmin-murder etc.
• ब्रह्महत्यादिकानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या (प्रातिपदिक) + आदिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘ब्रह्महत्याः आदयः येषु’ = such as brahma-hatya)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• कृतवान्: did, committed
• कृतवान्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कृतवत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्तवतुँ)
• Form: क्तवतुँ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (perfect participle/agentive past), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः

• पापिसंगेन: through association with sinners
• पापिसंगेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पापि (प्रातिपदिक) + संग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘पापिनां संगः’ = association with sinners)

• त्रयीमार्गविनिन्दकः: reviler of the Vedic path
• त्रयीमार्गविनिन्दकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रयी (प्रातिपदिक) + मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + विनिन्दक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘त्रय्या मार्गस्य विनिन्दकः’ = reviler of the Vedic path)

Speaker

Brahmā (deduced; Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa Ayodhyāmāhātmya dialogic style)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A brāhmaṇa/ṛṣi interlocutor (addressed as vipra / dvijapuṅgava in nearby verses).

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fallen brāhmaṇa surrounded by gamblers and drinkers, turning away from Vedic recitation; the Veda-personified (or a sacred fire) appears dimmed, foreshadowing later redemption.

Characters & Entities

• brahmahatyā
• trayī-mārga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Asat-saṅga can lead to mahāpātakas and even contempt for the Vedic way—spiritual downfall begins with wrong association.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ayodhyā’s redemptive tīrthas are being prepared as the remedy for such grave wrongdoing.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse frames the severity of sins that will later be purified by tīrtha-snānā.