Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मशापप्रदग्धा ये ये चैवात्महनो द्विजाः । भ्रष्टानशनसंन्यासनियतव्रतचारिणः

Transliteration

brahmaśāpapradagdhā ye ye caivātmahano dvijāḥ | bhraṣṭānaśanasaṃnyāsaniyatavratacāriṇaḥ

Translation

جو برہما کے شاپ سے جھلس گئے، اور وہ دِوِج (برہمن) جو خود کو ہلاک کر بیٹھیں؛ اور جو روزہ، سنیاس اور مقررہ ورتوں کی پابندی سے گر جائیں—وہ سب بھی یہاں محیط ہیں۔

Word by Word

• brahmaśāpapradagdhāḥ: burnt by Brahma’s curse
• brahmaśāpapradagdhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahma (प्रातिपदिक) + śāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + pradagdha (कृदन्त; प्र-उपसर्ग + √dah धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (brahmaśāpena pradagdhāḥ); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (those ‘burnt by Brahma’s curse’)

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

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; पुनरुक्त-समुच्चय

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• ātmahānaḥ: self-killers (suicides)
• ātmahānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक) + han (धातु √han ‘to kill’; घञ्/अण्-प्रत्ययान्त ‘hā’ as agent)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (ātmānaṃ hanti iti); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• dvijāḥ: twice-born (Brahmins etc.)
• dvijāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• bhraṣṭa: fallen (from)
• bhraṣṭa: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhraṣṭa (कृदन्त; √bhraṃś/√bhraṣ ‘to fall’, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (fallen/deviated)

• anaśana: fasting
• anaśana: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anaśana (प्रातिपदिक; a- + aśana ‘eating’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (of fasting)

• saṃnyāsa: renunciation
• saṃnyāsa: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃnyāsa (प्रातिपदिक; सम्-नि-√as/√nyas भाव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (of renunciation)

• niyata: prescribed
• niyata: Sambandha (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niyata (कृदन्त/विशेषण; नि-√yam, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-समासाङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; ‘prescribed/regulated’

• vrata: vow
• vrata: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (of vows)

• cāriṇaḥ: practitioners
• cāriṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cārin (प्रातिपदिक; √car धातु, इन्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘practitioners/followers’

Speaker

Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā), inferred (continues the plea listing categories of grave sinners prior to Viṣṇu’s response)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: sages / Revā-māhātmya audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fallen ascetic with torn deer-skin and downcast eyes stands at the river, while a luminous rishi gestures toward the water; faint fiery aura symbolizes ‘Brahma-śāpa’; after bathing, the ascetic dons clean cloth and begins japa under a tree.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Dvija

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even severe spiritual downfall—curses, self-destructive acts, and breaking sacred disciplines—is acknowledged as redeemable through proper refuge and purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā (Narmadā) and her tīrtha-field, within the Revā Khaṇḍa of the Āvantya Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse references disciplines (fasting, renunciation, vows) but does not prescribe a specific rite; it frames the need for purification.