Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

ब्रह्महत्यादिकं पापं यदास्ते संचितं क्वचित् । मासमात्रेण तद्देव क्षयं यात्ववगाहनात्

Transliteration

brahmahatyādikaṃ pāpaṃ yadāste saṃcitaṃ kvacit | māsamātreṇa taddeva kṣayaṃ yātvavagāhanāt

Translation

أيُّ إثمٍ—ابتداءً من جريمة قتل البراهمن (brahma-hatyā)—قد تراكم في أيّ موضع، يا ربّ: فإنّه بالاغتسال غَمْرًا (هنا) يزول ويُفنى في شهرٍ واحدٍ فحسب.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्महत्या-आदिकम्: beginning with brahma-hatya (grave sins etc.)
• ब्रह्महत्या-आदिकम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• यदा: when
• यदा: Sambandha (Temporal relation/कालसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb/conjunction)

• आस्ते: remains, stays
• आस्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• संचितम्: accumulated
• संचितम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + चि (धातु) → संचित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण

• क्वचित्: somewhere, at some time
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/अनिश्चिततावाचक-अव्यय (indefinite adverb)

• मास-मात्रेण: by (the span of) just one month
• मास-मात्रेण: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास + मात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; करण/हेतुवाचक

• तत्: that (sin)
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• देव: O god
• देव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• क्षयम्: destruction, end
• क्षयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• यातु: may it go/attain
• यातु: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative/benedictive sense), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अवगाहनात्: from bathing/immersion
• अवगाहनात्: Apadana (Source/cause/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अव + गाह (धातु) → अवगाहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; अपादान/हेतु (cause/source)

Speaker

Sarid (the River-goddess; Revā/Narmadā in context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (Narmadā)

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Personified Revā as a radiant river-goddess petitions Śiva; pilgrims immerse at dawn, water shimmering, with a small Śiva-liṅga shrine on the bank; the theme is ‘month-long immersion destroys brahmahatyā and other accumulated sins’.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmahatyā
• Deva (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma highlights the transformative power of tīrtha-practice, where sustained immersion/bathing is portrayed as a strong remedy for accumulated impurity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā/Narmadā, whose avagāhana is said to rapidly diminish even grave sins.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Avagāhana (ritual immersion) with a stated observance-period of “māsa-mātra” (about one month) for sin-diminution.