Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 67

Devanagari script

विश्वासघातको विप्रः शूद्रान्नादोऽथ लुब्धकः । नायकः परदाराणां स्वयंदत्तापहारकः

Transliteration

viśvāsaghātako vipraḥ śūdrānnādo'tha lubdhakaḥ | nāyakaḥ paradārāṇāṃ svayaṃdattāpahārakaḥ

Translation

แม้พราหมณ์ผู้ทรยศต่อความไว้วางใจ ผู้ยังชีพด้วยอาหารจากศูทร นายพรานผู้โลภ ผู้ชักนำผู้อื่นไปข้องเกี่ยวกับภรรยาคนอื่น และผู้ชิงเอาสิ่งที่ตนเคยให้คืน—ล้วนถูกนับเป็นผู้บาปหนัก

Word by Word

• विश्वासघातकः: betrayer of trust
• विश्वासघातकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वास + घातक (प्रातिपदिक; घातक < √हन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (विश्वासस्य घातकः)

• विप्रः: a Brahmin
• विप्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• शूद्रान्नादः: eater of a Shudra’s food
• शूद्रान्नादः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूद्र + अन्न + आद (प्रातिपदिक; आद < √अद्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (शूद्रस्य अन्नं आदः/अदः)

• अथ: then/also
• अथ: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक/समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (particle: then/also)

• लुब्धकः: hunter; greedy person
• लुब्धकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लुब्धक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• नायकः: leader; seducer
• नायकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नायक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• परदाराणाम्: of others’ wives
• परदाराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर + दारा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (परस्य दाराः)

• स्वयंदत्तापहारकः: one who takes back what he himself gave
• स्वयंदत्तापहारकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय) + दत्त + अपहारक (प्रातिपदिक; दत्त < √दा क्त; अपहारक < √हृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (स्वयं दत्तस्य अपहारकः)

Speaker

Narrator within the Māhātmya (deductively: a Purāṇic teacher addressing the king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sequence of moral vignettes: a brāhmaṇa breaking an oath before a fire; a man eating from another’s household with downcast eyes; a hunter clutching spoils; a schemer leading a couple astray; and a donor stealthily reclaiming a gifted item—set against a distant tīrtha landscape that promises redemption.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain breaches of dharma—betrayal, sexual misconduct, greed-driven harm, and stealing—are treated as heavy sins that obstruct spiritual progress.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs in the Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya of the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, framing these sins in the context of purification through that sacred region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; the verse catalogs sinful acts later contrasted with purifying practices of the kṣetra.