Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

यस्यास्थीनि जले तत्र क्षिप्यंते मनुजस्य च । अपि पाप समाचारः स प्राप्नोति परां गतिम्

Transliteration

yasyāsthīni jale tatra kṣipyaṃte manujasya ca | api pāpa samācāraḥ sa prāpnoti parāṃ gatim

Translation

যার অস্থি সেখানে জলে নিক্ষেপ করা হয়, সে পাপাচারী হলেও পরম গতি লাভ করে।

Word by Word

• यस्य: whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• अस्थीनि: bones
• अस्थीनि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्थि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन

• जले: in water
• जले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (there)

• क्षिप्यन्ते: are thrown
• क्षिप्यन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense: are thrown)

• मनुजस्य: of a man
• मनुजस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अप्यर्थे/सम्भावनार्थे (even, also)

• पाप-समाचारः: one of sinful conduct
• पाप-समाचारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + समाचार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्राप्नोति: attains
• प्राप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• पराम्: supreme
• पराम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (of ‘गतिम्’)

• गतिम्: state, destination
• गतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (phalaśruti; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viṣṇupadī (contextual)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A family at the water’s edge gently releases a small cloth bundle of ashes/bones into the current; priest offers tarpaṇa; mood is solemn yet hopeful; the water glows subtly to indicate salvific power.

Characters & Entities

• Asti (bones)
• Parā gati (supreme destiny)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The redemptive power of a great tīrtha extends even to post-death rites, emphasizing mercy and purification in sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The waters of Viṣṇupadī tīrtha (the ‘there’ where bones are immersed).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Asti-kṣepa/visarjana: casting a person’s bones into the tīrtha water as part of funerary observances.