Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

अपि पापसहस्राणि कृत्वा मोहेन मानवः । ऊर्जे धर्मनदे स्नातो निष्पापो जायते क्षणात्

Transliteration

api pāpasahasrāṇi kṛtvā mohena mānavaḥ | ūrje dharmanade snāto niṣpāpo jāyate kṣaṇāt

Translation

ولو أنّ إنسانًا ارتكب، عن غفلةٍ ووهم، آلافَ الآثام، فإنّه إذا اغتسل في نهر الدارما (Dharmanadī) في زمن أُورجا (كارتّيكا) صار طاهرًا من الذنب في لحظة.

Word by Word

• api: even if
• api: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (concessive particle: ‘even if’)

• pāpasahasrāṇi: thousands of sins
• pāpasahasrāṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), बहुवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (पापानां सहस्राणि)

• kṛtvā: having committed
• kṛtvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु) + क्त्वा
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund): ‘having done/committed’

• mohena: through delusion
• mohena: Karana (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: moha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental), एकवचनम्

• mānavaḥ: a man
• mānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• ūrje: in Ūrjā (month)
• ūrje: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ūrj (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्; मास-नाम (ऊर्जः/कार्तिक)

• dharmanade: in the Dharma-river
• dharmanade: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (धर्मस्य नदी)

• snātaḥ: having bathed
• snātaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √snā (स्ना धातु) + क्त
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; क्तान्त (PPP) ‘bathed’

• niṣpāpaḥ: sinless
• niṣpāpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nis- (उपसर्ग) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; निः-उपसर्गयुक्त विशेषण

• jāyate: is born/becomes
• jāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (जन् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्

• kṣaṇāt: in an instant/immediately
• kṣaṇāt: Apadana (Source/Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः (Ablative), एकवचनम्; अवधी-अर्थ (immediately)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmanadī

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A remorseful pilgrim enters Dharmanadī in Kārtika; dark, smoky ‘sin’ motifs dissolve into clear water-light, conveying instantaneous purification.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Dharmanadī
• Ūrja (Kārtika)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Repentance expressed through tīrtha-snāna in a sacred time (Kārtika/Ūrja) is portrayed as radically purifying.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmanadī (a sacred river/stream in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa landscape), especially during Ūrja (Kārtika).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathing (snāna) in Dharmanadī during the month of Ūrja (Kārtika).