Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

यत्पापं कुरुते जंतुः पैशुन्यं च कृतघ्नताम् । मित्रद्रोहे च यत्पापं यत्पापं पारदारिकम् । तत्सर्वं विलयं याति कुंडस्नानरतस्य च

Transliteration

yatpāpaṃ kurute jaṃtuḥ paiśunyaṃ ca kṛtaghnatām | mitradrohe ca yatpāpaṃ yatpāpaṃ pāradārikam | tatsarvaṃ vilayaṃ yāti kuṃḍasnānaratasya ca

Translation

أيّ ذنبٍ يرتكبه الإنسان—كالوشاية والبهتان، وكفران النعمة، وخيانة الصديق، وإثم انتهاك زوجة الغير—فإنه كلّه يذوب ويزول لمن يواظب على الاغتسال في الكوندا.

Word by Word

• yat: which
• yat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; sambandha-prayogaḥ (relative)

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• kurute: does/commits
• kurute: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana; ātmanepada

• jantuḥ: a creature/person
• jantuḥ: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jantu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• paiśunyam: slander/backbiting
• paiśunyam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paiśunya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction)

• kṛtaghnatām: ingratitude
• kṛtaghnatām: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛtaghnatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana

• mitradrohe: in betrayal of a friend
• mitradrohe: Adhikaraṇa (Locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mitra + droha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Saptamī (7th), Ekavacana; mitrasya drohaḥ (genitive-tatpuruṣa)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction)

• yat: which
• yat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; sambandha-prayogaḥ (relative)

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• yat: which
• yat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; sambandha-prayogaḥ (relative)

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• pāradārikam: adultery-related
• pāradārikam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paradāra + ika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; paradārāṇāṃ sambandhi (relating to another’s wife)

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; anaphoric (that)

• sarvam: all
• sarvam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• vilayam: dissolution/destruction
• vilayam: Karma (Goal/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vilaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana

• yāti: goes/comes to
• yāti: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana; parasmaipada

• kuṇḍa-snāna-ratasya: of one devoted to bathing in the kuṇḍa
• kuṇḍa-snāna-ratasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṇḍa + snāna + rata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī (6th), Ekavacana; kuṇḍe snāne rataḥ (locative-tatpuruṣa within)

• ca: and/also
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Brahmakuṇḍa

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A remorseful pilgrim bathes repeatedly in a stepped kuṇḍa; dark, smoky forms symbolizing slander and betrayal dissolve into the water’s light; the pilgrim emerges calm, hands folded, resolved to ethical renewal.

Characters & Entities

• Kuṇḍa
• Snāna
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Brahmakuṇḍa (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A sacred tīrtha, approached with devotion, functions as prāyaścitta—dissolving even grave moral stains and urging a return to dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The kuṇḍa (sacred tank) of Prabhāsakṣetra, in the Brahmakuṇḍa-centered glorification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Kuṇḍa-snāna—devoted bathing in the sacred tank—as a means of pāpa-kṣaya (sin-destruction).