Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मघ्नः स तु विज्ञेयो न तस्मै निष्कृतिः स्मृता । पञ्चाशत्कोटिसंख्येषु नरकेष्वनुपूर्वशः

Transliteration

brahmaghnaḥ sa tu vijñeyo na tasmai niṣkṛtiḥ smṛtā | pañcāśatkoṭisaṃkhyeṣu narakeṣvanupūrvaśaḥ

Translation

அவனைப் பிராமணஹந்தகன் (பிரஹ்மஹத்தி செய்தவன்) என அறிய வேண்டும்; அவனுக்கு எந்தப் பிராயச்சித்தமும் சொல்லப்படவில்லை. அவன் வரிசையாக ஐம்பது கோடி நரகங்களில் வீழ்வான்.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मघ्नः: a Brahmin-slayer
• ब्रह्मघ्नः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahma-ghna (प्रातिपदिक; ब्रह्मन् + घ्न)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ब्रह्मणः घ्नः = slayer of a Brahmin)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrast/emphasis)

• विज्ञेयः: to be known (as)
• विज्ञेयः: Karta (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi- (उपसर्ग) + √jñā (धातु) + तव्यत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive), ‘to be known/should be known’

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation)

• तस्मै: for him/to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• निष्कृतिः: expiation
• निष्कृतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niṣ-kṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्मृता: is declared/remembered
• स्मृता: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛta (कृदन्त; √smṛ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे विधेय (is said/remembered)

• पञ्चाशत्कोटिसंख्येषु: in (hells) numbering fifty crores
• पञ्चाशत्कोटिसंख्येषु: Adhikarana (Location/Scope/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañcāśat-koṭi-saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक; पञ्चाशत् + कोटि + संख्या)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (पञ्चाशत्कोटीनां संख्या येषु)

• नरकेषु: in hells
• नरकेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अनुपूर्वशः: successively/in order
• अनुपूर्वशः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anupūrvaśas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), क्रमवाचक

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from Devī-address: deveśi/mahādevi/varārohe in surrounding verses)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Cosmic moral geography: the offender marked as brahma-ghna, dragged by messengers toward successive hell-realms, with a counting motif suggesting innumerable narakas; Prabhāsa’s sacred shore faintly behind as contrast.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Brahma-hatyā (violence against a brāhmaṇa) is portrayed as an extreme adharma with dreadful, long-lasting consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra is the setting; this teaching supports the kṣetra’s dharmic ethos by warning against grave sins.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; rather, it states that expiation is not taught for this crime in this passage.