Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 117

Devanagari script

एतत्ते कथितं राजन्महापातकनाशनम् । अस्माहकस्य माहात्म्यं किमन्यत्परिपृच्छसि

Transliteration

etatte kathitaṃ rājanmahāpātakanāśanam | asmāhakasya māhātmyaṃ kimanyatparipṛcchasi

Translation

قد قيل لك هذا، أيها الملك—تعليمٌ يمحو الكبائر. وأما عظمة أسمَاهَكا التي وصفناها، فماذا بعدُ تريد أن تسأل؟

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; निर्देश (this)

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अत्र चतुर्थी (to you) अधिकयुक्ता

• कथितम्: has been told
• कथितम्: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भावे; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (it) has been told

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• महापातकनाशनम्: destroyer of great sins
• महापातकनाशनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + पातक (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (महापातकस्य नाशनम्)

• अस्माहकस्य: of Asmāhaka
• अस्माहकस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्माहक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• माहात्म्यम्: greatness, glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• अन्यत्: other
• अन्यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; किम् इत्यस्य विशेषण

• परिपृच्छसि: you ask (inquire)
• परिपृच्छसि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + प्रच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (explicitly appears at the start of the next adhyāya; consistent narrative voice here)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Asmāhaka (māhātmya)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājan (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-like narrator addressing a seated king; behind them, the river-tīrtha and shrine are suggested; the scene conveys completion—scrolls/garlands, calm gestures, and a sense of assurance that great sins are destroyed by the described practice.

Characters & Entities

• King (Rājan)
• Mahāpātaka (great sins)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hearing and following tīrtha-māhātmya instructions is presented as a powerful means for destroying grave sins.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate context is the Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha tradition within the Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse functions as a concluding phalaśruti; it references the already-given practices rather than adding a new one.