Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

वाचिकं मानसं पापं करणैर्यदुपार्जितम् । अन्यैर्निमिषमात्रेण व्यपोहति न संशयः

Transliteration

vācikaṃ mānasaṃ pāpaṃ karaṇairyadupārjitam | anyairnimiṣamātreṇa vyapohati na saṃśayaḥ

Translation

ذنوبُ اللسان وذنوبُ القلب، مما اكتسبته الجوارح—بهذه العبادة تُزال في لمح البصر؛ لا ريب في ذلك.

Word by Word

• vācikam: verbal
• vācikam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vācika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Acc./2nd), एकवचन; ‘verbal’ (pāpam इति विशेषण)

• mānasam: mental
• mānasam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Acc./2nd), एकवचन; ‘mental’ (pāpam इति विशेषण)

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Acc./2nd), एकवचन

• karaṇaiḥ: by the instruments (senses/means)
• karaṇaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instr./3rd), बहुवचन

• yat: which
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बन्धवाचक-सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Acc./2nd), एकवचन; ‘which/that’ (pāpam इति विशेष्यं)

• upārjitam: acquired; accumulated
• upārjitam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifying participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa√arj (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past Passive Participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Acc./2nd), एकवचन; ‘acquired/earned’

• anyaiḥ: by others
• anyaiḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instr./3rd), बहुवचन; ‘by others’ (कर्तृ-करणभावे)

• nimiṣa-mātreṇa: in a mere moment (blink)
• nimiṣa-mātreṇa: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nimiṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सप्तमी/षष्ठीभावार्थे ‘nimiṣasya mātram’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instr./3rd), एकवचन; कालपरिमाणे ‘in/within a mere blink’

• vyapohati: removes; dispels
• vyapohati: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-apa√uh (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom./1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Dvārakā Māhātmya didactic style within Skanda Purāṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic depiction of sins of speech and mind dissolving like smoke as devotees chant through the night before Hari; letters/whispers fade into lamp-light.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional observance is portrayed as swiftly purifying subtle sins of speech and mind.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā is the contextual sacred landscape of the teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The chapter’s central practice—Hari/Viṣṇu jāgaraṇa and associated devotion—implied as the means of purification.