Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

सस्यारामादिहरणं गृहदाहादिकर्म च । असत्यवादं पैशुन्यं पारुष्यं वेदविक्र यः । कूटसाक्ष्यं व्रतत्यागः कैतवं नीचसेवनम्

Transliteration

sasyārāmādiharaṇaṃ gṛhadāhādikarma ca | asatyavādaṃ paiśunyaṃ pāruṣyaṃ vedavikra yaḥ | kūṭasākṣyaṃ vratatyāgaḥ kaitavaṃ nīcasevanam

Translation

การขโมยพืชผลและสวน การเผาบ้านเรือน การพูดเท็จ การส่อเสียด ความหยาบคาย การขายพระเวท การเป็นพยานเท็จ การละทิ้งศีลตบะ การหลอกลวง และการคบหากับคนชั่ว

Word by Word

• सस्यारामादिहरणम्: stealing crops, gardens, etc.
• सस्यारामादिहरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सस्य (प्रातिपदिक) + आराम (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + हरण (प्रातिपदिक; √हृ (धातु) + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (सस्य-आराम-आदि-हरणम् = crops, gardens, etc. stealing)

• गृहदाहादिकर्म: acts like burning houses, etc.
• गृहदाहादिकर्म: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक) + दाह (प्रातिपदिक; √दह् (धातु) + घञ्) + आदि (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + कर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (गृहदाह-आदि-कर्म = acts like house-burning)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• असत्यवादम्: false speech/lying
• असत्यवादम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असत्य (प्रातिपदिक) + वाद (प्रातिपदिक; √वद् (धातु) + घञ्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः (असत्यः वादः)

• पैशुन्यम्: slander/backbiting
• पैशुन्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पैशुन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• पारुष्यम्: harshness/abusive speech
• पारुष्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पारुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• वेदविक्रयः: selling the Veda
• वेदविक्रयः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक) + विक्रय (प्रातिपदिक; √क्री (धातु) उपसर्ग वि- + घञ्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (वेदस्य विक्रयः)

• कूटसाक्ष्यम्: false testimony
• कूटसाक्ष्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूट (प्रातिपदिक) + साक्ष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः (कूटं साक्ष्यम् = false testimony)

• व्रतत्यागः: abandoning vows
• व्रतत्यागः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रत (प्रातिपदिक) + त्याग (प्रातिपदिक; √त्यज् (धातु) + घञ्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (व्रतस्य त्यागः)

• कैतवम्: deceit/fraud
• कैतवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कैतव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• नीचसेवनम्: associating with the low/base
• नीचसेवनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नीच (प्रातिपदिक) + सेवन (प्रातिपदिक; √सेव् (धातु) + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (नीचानां सेवनम्)

Speaker

Deductive attribution: Purāṇic narrator (likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition within Brāhma Khaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moral court-and-village montage: a witness swears falsely, a house burns, a gossip whispers, a harsh speaker berates, a vow-thread is cut, and a ‘Veda for sale’ scene shows sacred scrolls traded for coins—overseen by a stern sage.

Characters & Entities

• Veda
• Vrata
• Dharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is protected through truth, restraint, and reverence for sacred knowledge; violations are explicitly named as spiritual decline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the verse continues an ethical catalogue rather than a tīrtha-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Indirectly, it warns against vrata-tyāga (abandoning vows), reinforcing the importance of keeping observances.