Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

बालघाती च गोघ्नश्च ये च स्त्रीशूद्रघातकाः । गरदाश्चाग्निदाश्चैव गुरुद्रोहरताश्च ये

Transliteration

bālaghātī ca goghnaśca ye ca strīśūdraghātakāḥ | garadāścāgnidāścaiva gurudroharatāśca ye

Translation

แม้ผู้ฆ่าเด็ก ผู้ฆ่าวัว และผู้ฆ่าหญิงหรือศูทร; ผู้ให้ยาพิษ ผู้วางเพลิง และผู้หมกมุ่นในการทรยศต่อครูบาอาจารย์—คนเช่นนี้ก็ยังอยู่ในขอบเขตแห่งการชำระบาปที่กล่าวไว้ ณ ที่นี้

Word by Word

• बालघाती: child-killer
• बालघाती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल (प्रातिपदिक) + घातिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular); उपपद-तत्पुरुष (बालं घातयति/हन्ति इति)

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

• गोघ्नः: cow-slayer
• गोघ्नः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक) + घ्न (प्रातिपदिक; √हन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular); उपपद-तत्पुरुष (गां हन्ति इति)

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

• ये: those who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

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

• स्त्रीशूद्रघातकाः: killers of women and śūdras
• स्त्रीशूद्रघातकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक) + शूद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + घातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (स्त्रीं शूद्रं च घातयन्ति/हन्ति इति)

• गरदाः: poison-givers
• गरदाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गरद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

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

• अग्निदाः: arsonists (fire-setters)
• अग्निदाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + द (प्रातिपदिक; √दा)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural); उपपद-तत्पुरुष (अग्निं ददाति/दहति इति—अर्थे ‘अग्निद’ = आग्निदाहकर्ता/अग्निदाता)

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

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic particle)

• गुरुद्रोहरताः: those devoted to betraying their teacher
• गुरुद्रोहरताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + द्रोह (प्रातिपदिक) + रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural); तत्पुरुष (गुरौ द्रोहे रताः)

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

• ये: those who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

Speaker

Narrative voice (contextual Purāṇic narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pīluyugma-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A somber procession of penitents—some with downcast faces—approaching the sacred ford; a sage gestures toward purification; symbolic dark stains dissolving into the water’s light.

Characters & Entities

• Mahāpātaka (grave sins)
• Guru (teacher)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The māhātmya amplifies the tīrtha’s power by explicitly including even the gravest moral transgressions within the range of possible purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Dharmāraṇya tīrtha connected with the liṅga and the pīlu-yugma setting in the preceding verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not a distinct ritual here; the verse supports the prior prescriptions (devotional darśana/approach to the holy site) by listing who can be purified.