Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

तेषां पापसहस्राणि विलयं यांति तत्क्षणात् । शालिग्राम शिलाग्रे तु ये प्रयच्छंति दीपकम्

Transliteration

teṣāṃ pāpasahasrāṇi vilayaṃ yāṃti tatkṣaṇāt | śāligrāma śilāgre tu ye prayacchaṃti dīpakam

Translation

لهم تفنى آلافُ الآثام في تلك اللحظة عينها—أولئك الذين يقدّمون سراجًا قربانًا أمام حجر شالِغراما المقدّس (Śāligrāma-śilā).

Word by Word

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• pāpa-sahasrāṇi: thousands of sins
• pāpa-sahasrāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; समासः—पापानां सहस्राणि (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• vilayam: dissolution, destruction
• vilayam: Gati/Karma (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vilaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• yānti: go (come to)
• yānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (या धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• tat-kṣaṇāt: immediately, at that moment
• tat-kṣaṇāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad + kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; समासः—तस्मिन् क्षणे (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष), अर्थतः ‘तत्क्षणात्’ = ततः क्षणात् (immediately)

• śāligrāma: of Śāligram
• śāligrāma: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāligrāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (सम्बन्धे)

• śilāgre: on the top of the stone
• śilāgre: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śilā + agra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; समासः—शिलायाः अग्रे (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

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

• prayacchanti: offer/give
• prayacchanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + yam (यम् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘प्र + यच्छ’ = ददति

• dīpakam: a lamp
• dīpakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīpaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Gālava

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śāligrāma

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Inquirer/assembly

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee places a bright lamp before the dark, glossy Śāligrāma-śilā; the flame’s halo expands, symbolically burning away heaps of sin; the shrine glows with tulasī and conch nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Śāligrāma-śilā
• Dīpa (lamp)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a simple, sincere offering (like a lamp) to the sacred form of Viṣṇu is extolled as spiritually purifying.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse glorifies Śāligrāma worship practice rather than a named pilgrimage geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Offer a dīpa (lamp) before the Śāligrāma-śilā.