Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

अपि पाप समाचारः कौलो वा निर्घृणोऽपि वा । ब्रह्मघ्नो वा सुरापो वा चौरो वा भ्रूणहाऽपि वा

Transliteration

api pāpa samācāraḥ kaulo vā nirghṛṇo'pi vā | brahmaghno vā surāpo vā cauro vā bhrūṇahā'pi vā

Translation

Dẫu là kẻ hạnh kiểm tội lỗi—dù thuộc phái Kaula, hay kẻ tàn nhẫn—dù là kẻ sát hại một brāhmaṇa, kẻ uống rượu, kẻ trộm cắp, hay thậm chí kẻ phá thai—

Word by Word

• api: even if
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — even/though

• pāpaḥ: sinful
• pāpaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — विशेषण (samācāraḥ)

• samācāraḥ: one of bad conduct
• samācāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samācāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kaulaḥ: a Kaula (tantric sectarian)
• kaulaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• nirghṛṇaḥ: merciless
• nirghṛṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nirghṛṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — even

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

• brahmaghnaḥ: slayer of a Brahmin
• brahmaghnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman + ghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (ब्रह्मणः घ्नः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• surāpaḥ: drinker of liquor
• surāpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surā + pa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सुरां पिबति इति), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• cauraḥ: thief
• cauraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• bhrūṇahā: killer of an embryo
• bhrūṇahā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhrūṇa + han (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (भ्रूणं हन्ति इति), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — even

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

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice; contextually Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition in Māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of penitents—some fierce-looking, some ashamed—stand at the edge of a Śiva temple precinct; the text’s catalog of sins is visualized as burdens falling away as they turn toward the shrine.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Māhātmya underscores the extraordinary purifying power of the kṣetra—its grace can reach even those burdened with severe wrongdoing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Śiva-connected tīrtha in the Nāgara Khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; the verse itself does not name it.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

This verse lists categories of sinners; the implied prescription (given in adjacent verses) is worship/darśana at the kṣetra.