Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

ब्रह्माणं वा सुरश्रेष्ठ केशवं वा जगद्गुरुम् । अर्चयन्पापमखिलं जहात्येव न संशयः

Transliteration

brahmāṇaṃ vā suraśreṣṭha keśavaṃ vā jagadgurum | arcayanpāpamakhilaṃ jahātyeva na saṃśayaḥ

Translation

O Bester unter den Göttern: Wer Brahmā oder Keśava, den Guru der Welt, verehrt, wirft gewiss alle Sünde ab; daran besteht kein Zweifel.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्माणम्: Brahmā / the Creator (as object of worship)
• ब्रह्माणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; accusative singular (object)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: “or”)

• सुरश्रेष्ठ: O best of the gods
• सुरश्रेष्ठ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; vocative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सुराणां श्रेष्ठः)

• केशवम्: Keśava (Viṣṇu)
• केशवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केशव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; accusative singular

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: “or”)

• जगद्गुरुम्: the teacher of the world
• जगद्गुरुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् + गुरु (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; accusative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (जगतः गुरुं)

• अर्चयन्: worshipping
• अर्चयन्: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ-प्रत्यय), परस्मैपदी; प्रथमा-एकवचन पुंलिङ्ग; present active participle (nominative singular masculine)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; accusative singular

• अखिलम्: entire, all
• अखिलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अखिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; adjective agreeing with पापम्

• जहाति: abandons, gives up
• जहाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; present indicative 3rd sg

• एव: indeed, certainly
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular

Speaker

Unclear in snippet (addressing 'suraśreṣṭha'; likely the main narrator replying within the dialogue frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-maṇḍala (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (king) / interlocutor in Revākhaṇḍa dialogue

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee offers flowers and lamp before a twofold shrine: Brahmā with four faces and Keśava with conch-disc-mace-lotus; a river-tīrtha landscape in the background symbolizing purification.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Keśava (Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sincere worship of major deities is affirmed as a decisive means for purification and removal of sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse focuses on arcana (worship) within the Revā Khaṇḍa spiritual framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Arcana (formal worship) of Brahmā or Keśava is prescribed as an expiatory, purifying act.