Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

अधोमुखा निबद्धा ये वृक्षाग्रे पावकोपरि । ब्रह्महत्यान्विताः सर्व एते चैव नराधमाः

Transliteration

adhomukhā nibaddhā ye vṛkṣāgre pāvakopari | brahmahatyānvitāḥ sarva ete caiva narādhamāḥ

Translation

ผู้ใดถูกมัดห้อยหัวลง ณ ยอดไม้เหนือเปลวไฟ คนต่ำช้าเหล่านั้นล้วนมัวหมองด้วยบาปพราหมณ์ฆาต (พรหมหัตยา)

Word by Word

• अधोमुखाः: down-faced, head-down
• अधोमुखाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधोमुख (प्रातिपदिक; अधस् + मुख)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• निबद्धाः: bound, tied
• निबद्धाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि + बन्ध् (धातु) → निबद्ध (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत् विशेषणम्

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम

• वृक्षाग्रे: on the top of a tree
• वृक्षाग्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृक्ष + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरणम्

• पावक: fire
• पावक: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पावक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-पूर्वपद (समासाङ्ग); ‘अग्नि’

• उपरि: above, over
• उपरि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उपरि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्गसदृश-देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb/preposition)

• ब्रह्महत्या-अन्विताः: associated with brahmin-murder (sin)
• ब्रह्महत्या-अन्विताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या + अन्वित (प्रातिपदिक; अन्वि + इ (धातु) → अन्वित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; निर्देश-सर्वनाम

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

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

• नराधमाः: worst of men
• नराधमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर + अधम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; संज्ञा

Speaker

Unspecified (Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark hell tableau: sinners bound upside down from tree-tops, suspended over flames; their inverted bodies mirror inverted morality, while smoke rises into a dark sky.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Brahmahatyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mahāpātakas, especially brahmahatyā, are portrayed as spiritually catastrophic and demand profound repentance and dharmic restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra; the Māhātmya’s warnings heighten the value of purity, pilgrimage, and dharmic life.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly in this verse; it identifies a mahāpātaka and its consequence.