Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

राजा वा राजभृत्यो वा यः पाषंडमनुव्रतः । भेदको धर्मसेतूनां वैतरण्यां निपात्यते

Transliteration

rājā vā rājabhṛtyo vā yaḥ pāṣaṃḍamanuvrataḥ | bhedako dharmasetūnāṃ vaitaraṇyāṃ nipātyate

Translation

ไม่ว่ากษัตริย์หรือข้าราชบริพาร ผู้ใดดำเนินตามลัทธินอกธรรม (ปาษัณฑะ) และทำลายสะพานแห่งธรรมะ ผู้นั้นถูกทิ้งลงสู่ไวตรณี

Word by Word

• rājā: a king
• rājā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Alternative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक-निपातः (disjunctive ‘or’)

• rāja-bhṛtyaḥ: a king’s servant
• rāja-bhṛtyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāja + bhṛtya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (rājñaḥ bhṛtyaḥ)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Alternative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक-निपातः

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• pāṣaṇḍa-anuvrataḥ: devoted to/observing heretical practice
• pāṣaṇḍa-anuvrataḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāṣaṇḍa + anuvrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (pāṣaṇḍam anuvrataḥ = ‘follower of heresy’); विशेषणम् (yaḥ)

• bhedakaḥ: a breaker/destroyer
• bhedakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhedaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• dharma-setūnām: of the bridges/boundaries of dharma
• dharma-setūnām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma + setu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (dharmasya setavaḥ)

• vaitaraṇyām: in the Vaitaraṇī (river/hell)
• vaitaraṇyām: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaitaraṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• nipātyate: is cast down
• nipātyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni + pat (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (Passive)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Setukhaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vaitaraṇī (infernal)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king and a royal attendant, adorned yet morally fallen, are shown being led toward the dark Vaitaraṇī river by Yama’s messengers; in the background, a symbolic ‘bridge of dharma’ appears broken, emphasizing ‘bhédakaḥ dharma-setūnām’.

Characters & Entities

• Vaitaraṇī
• Dharma-setu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Power and office do not excuse adharma; those who undermine dharma’s safeguards incur severe karmic retribution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is praised directly in this verse; it functions as a dharma-warning within the Setu Māhātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse condemns pāṣaṇḍa-allegiance and dharma-violation.