Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

जागरेणैव पापानां श्वपचानां महीपते । तत्पदं कविभिः प्रोक्तं किं पुनस्तु द्विजन्मनाम्

Transliteration

jāgareṇaiva pāpānāṃ śvapacānāṃ mahīpate | tatpadaṃ kavibhiḥ proktaṃ kiṃ punastu dvijanmanām

Translation

أيّها الملك، بالسهر وحده يُقال على لسان الحكماء إنّ حتى الشفابَكا (śvapaca) الملطّخين بالذنوب يبلغون تلك الحالة العُليا؛ فكيف بالـ«ثنائيّي الميلاد» (dvija) إذن؟

Word by Word

• जागरेण: by the vigil
• जागरेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• एव: indeed/alone
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis/"indeed/only")

• पापानाम्: of sinners/of sins
• पापानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• श्वपचानाम्: of dog-cookers (outcastes)
• श्वपचानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वपच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• महीपते: O king
• महीपते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महीपति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मही + पति)

• तत्पदम्: that state/abode
• तत्पदम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् + पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तस्य पदम्)

• कविभिः: by sages/poets
• कविभिः: Kartr-karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कवि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• प्रोक्तम्: declared
• प्रोक्तम्: Kriya (Predicate in passive/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-वच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि भावः (said/declared)

• किम्: what (then)
• किम्: Sambandha (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रश्नार्थक (interrogative, used adverbially)

• पुनः: then/more so
• पुनः: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति/अधिक्य (again/more so)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेष (but/indeed)

• द्विजन्मनाम्: of the twice-born (Brahmins etc.)
• द्विजन्मनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वि + जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषः (द्विजन्मा = twice-born)

Speaker

Narrator addressing a king (speaker not explicit in snippet; within Dvārakā Māhātmya discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (mahīpati)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A mixed assembly—brahmins, kings, and a humble śvapaca devotee—stand together in night vigil; a radiant path (parama-pada) opens above, signifying equal grace.

Characters & Entities

• Hari (implied by tatpada)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The purifying power of devotion is emphasized as reaching even the socially marginalized; spiritual attainment is not barred by past sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā, where Hari’s vigil is praised as granting ‘tatpada’ (the supreme state).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Jāgaraṇa (vigil) itself is highlighted as sufficient to bring about the highest spiritual result.