Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

परदाररतश्चापि परहिंसा रतोपि वा । परापवादशीलोपि तथा विस्रंभघातकः

Transliteration

paradārarataścāpi parahiṃsā ratopi vā | parāpavādaśīlopi tathā visraṃbhaghātakaḥ

Translation

పరస్త్రీలో ఆసక్తి గలవాడు, పరహింసలో నిమగ్నుడైనవాడు, పరనిందకు అలవాటుపడ్డవాడు, అలాగే విశ్వాసఘాతకుడు—ఇవీ ఇక్కడ ఘోరపాపులుగా లెక్కించబడతారు.

Word by Word

• परदाररतः: one attached to others’ wives
• परदाररतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + दार (प्रातिपदिक) + रत (√रम्, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समास: परेषां दारेषु रतः (attached to others’ wives)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Conjunction/समुच्चय)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Particle), अप्यर्थ

• परहिंसारतः: one devoted to harming others
• परहिंसारतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + हिंसा (प्रातिपदिक) + रत (√रम्, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समास: परेषां हिंसायां रतः (delighting in harming others)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Particle)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Conjunction), विकल्पार्थक

• परापवादशीलः: one prone to slandering others
• परापवादशीलः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + अपवाद (प्रातिपदिक) + शील (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समास: परेषाम् अपवादे शीलं यस्य (habitually slandering others)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Particle)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण), तथार्थक (likewise)

• विस्रंभघातकः: a betrayer (one who harms trust)
• विस्रंभघातकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विस्रंभ (प्रातिपदिक) + घातक (√हन्/घात, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समास: विस्रंभेण (विश्वासेन) घातकः (betrayer/killer of trust)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Four symbolic vignettes: illicit liaison, an act of harm, a whispering slanderer, and a broken handshake of betrayal—contrasted with a pilgrim’s steady gaze toward a Kāśī shrine.

Characters & Entities

• Adultery (Paradāra)
• Hiṃsā
• Apavāda (slander)
• Visraṃbha (trust)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse condemns social and spiritual harms—adultery, violence, slander, and betrayal—as serious degradations of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not named in this verse; the broader passage belongs to Kāśī’s Trilocana Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is an ethical enumeration preparing the ground for the purificatory promise of Kāśī’s Śaiva worship.