Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

मुच्यते स महत्पापैः सप्तजन्मसुसंचितैः । उष्ट्रीक्षीरमविक्षीरं नवश्राद्धे च भोजनम्

Transliteration

mucyate sa mahatpāpaiḥ saptajanmasusaṃcitaiḥ | uṣṭrīkṣīramavikṣīraṃ navaśrāddhe ca bhojanam

Translation

Er wird von großen Sünden befreit, die sich in sieben Geburten angesammelt haben—wie das Trinken von Kamelmilch, Schafmilch und das Essen bei einem „neuen Śrāddha“ (unrechten Totenritus).

Word by Word

• मुच्यते: is released (is freed)
• मुच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st case/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• महत्पापैः: from great sins
• महत्पापैः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक) + पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter; पाप-शब्द), तृतीया (3rd case/Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• सप्तजन्मसु: in seven births
• सप्तजन्मसु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (7th case/Locative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• संचितैः: accumulated
• संचितैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + चि (धातु) → सञ्चित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (Past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (agreeing with पापैः), तृतीया (Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• उष्ट्रीक्षीरम्: camel’s milk
• उष्ट्रीक्षीरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उष्ट्री (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nominative/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• अविक्षीरम्: sheep’s milk
• अविक्षीरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवि (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nominative/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• नवश्राद्धे: at the new-śrāddha (a śrāddha rite)
• नवश्राद्धे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नव (प्रातिपदिक) + श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (7th case/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• भोजनम्: eating; meal
• भोजनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nominative/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (addressed as Bhārata in the passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at a bright, pale-sanded riverbank (Śukla-tīrtha), holding a kamaṇḍalu; nearby, elders instruct on purity rules; offerings arranged for tarpaṇa; the river glows white-gold.

Characters & Entities

• Śrāddha (ancestral rite)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha is presented as a powerful prāyaścitta: it can cleanse even long-accumulated wrongdoing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing context is Śuklatīrtha in Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new ritual is prescribed in this line; it lists certain sins and states that the tīrtha’s merit frees one from them.