Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

कुलकोटिं समासाद्य प्रार्थयामास चात्मवान् । प्रायश्चित्तं ततः कृत्वा बभूव गतकल्मषः

Transliteration

kulakoṭiṃ samāsādya prārthayāmāsa cātmavān | prāyaścittaṃ tataḥ kṛtvā babhūva gatakalmaṣaḥ

Translation

Als er Kulakoṭi erreichte, brachte der selbstbeherrschte Herr sein Gebet dar. Dann, nachdem er das Prāyaścitta vollzogen hatte, wurde er frei von Makel.

Word by Word

• kulakoṭim: Kulakoṭi (name of a place/peak)
• kulakoṭim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula + koṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कुलस्य कोटिः)

• samāsādya: having approached
• samāsādya: Kriya (Gerundial/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sad + sam-ā (धातु) → samāsādya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having approached/reached)

• prārthayāmāsa: requested, implored
• prārthayāmāsa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √arth (धातु) + pra (धातु-उपसर्ग)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्ष-भूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; परिप्रयोगः 'प्रार्थयामास' (he began to request)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय)

• ātmavān: self-possessed
• ātmavān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātmavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (self-possessed)

• prāyaścittam: expiation
• prāyaścittam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāyaścitta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)

• kṛtvā: having performed
• kṛtvā: Kriya (Gerundial/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) → kṛtvā (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having done)

• babhūva: became
• babhūva: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्ष-भूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• gatakalmaṣaḥ: free from sin (whose impurity has gone)
• gatakalmaṣaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gata (√gam, क्त) + kalmaṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (यस्मात् कल्मषः गतः)

Speaker

Narrator (Revā Khaṇḍa narrator addressing Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kulakoṭi

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (Arjuna)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Kulakoṭi, Śiva stands in prayer on the Narmadā bank; the dark stain of brahmahatyā lifts as he completes expiation, leaving a clear, radiant aura.

Characters & Entities

• Kulakoṭi
• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prayer joined with prescribed expiation brings inner purification; tīrthas are portrayed as dharma-institutions for cleansing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kulakoṭi, associated in this chapter’s flow with the Narmadā tīrtha complex culminating in Śuddharudra Tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prāyaścitta (expiatory rite) is explicitly mentioned, though its steps are not detailed in this verse.