Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 62

Devanagari script

पापिष्ठा नष्टचारित्रा यथैषा पंचभर्तृका । विख्यातिं यास्यते लोके यथा चासौ तथैव सा

Transliteration

pāpiṣṭhā naṣṭacāritrā yathaiṣā paṃcabhartṛkā | vikhyātiṃ yāsyate loke yathā cāsau tathaiva sā

Translation

ดังที่สตรีผู้บาปหนา ผู้ประพฤติชั่วนี้—ผู้เลื่องชื่อว่า ‘ภรรยาของสามีห้าคน’—จักมีชื่อเสียในโลก ฉันใด สตรีอีกผู้นั้นก็จักเป็นที่รู้จักฉันนั้นเหมือนกัน

Word by Word

• पापिष्ठा: most sinful
• पापिष्ठा: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप + इष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तद्धित-तरतमभावः (superlative: -इष्ठ)

• नष्टचारित्रा: of ruined character
• नष्टचारित्रा: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नष्ट + चारित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (one whose conduct is ruined)

• यथा: as
• यथा: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (comparative/‘as’)

• एषा: this (woman)
• एषा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• पंचभर्तृका: having five husbands
• पंचभर्तृका: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च + भर्तृक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; द्विगु-समासः (numeral compound)

• विख्यातिम्: fame / notoriety
• विख्यातिम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विख्याति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• यास्यते: will attain / will go to
• यास्यते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकारः (future), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Loc. 7), एकवचनम्

• यथा: as
• यथा: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपातः

• असौ: that (she)
• असौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः (context), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• तथा: so / thus
• तथा: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (thus/so)

• एव: indeed / just
• एव: Sambandha (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपातः (emphatic particle)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa tīrthamāhātmya narrative style; exact speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrative split-scene: on one side a notorious woman surrounded by pointing townsfolk (symbol of infamy); on the other, a pilgrim-woman at a shrine, with a shadow of the same stigma looming—showing ‘as she, so she’.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It underscores that adharma and loss of proper conduct (ācāra) lead to lasting public notoriety, reinforcing the Purāṇic emphasis on dharma as the foundation of honor and spiritual progress.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse itself is a moral comparison and does not name a tīrtha; the tīrtha context must be taken from the surrounding verses of Nāgara-khaṇḍa, Tīrthamāhātmya, Adhyāya 192.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this shloka; no specific snāna, dāna, vrata, or japa instruction appears here.