Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 140

Devanagari script

ते यां गतिं गताः पार्थ न तां गच्छन्ति यज्विनः । पापानि यानि कानि स्युः कोटिजन्मार्जितान्यपि

Transliteration

te yāṃ gatiṃ gatāḥ pārtha na tāṃ gacchanti yajvinaḥ | pāpāni yāni kāni syuḥ koṭijanmārjitānyapi

Translation

O Pārtha, den Zustand, den die in der Śivarātri-Wache Verharrenden erlangen, erreichen selbst die Opfernden der Rituale nicht. Welche Sünden es auch geben mag — selbst über Millionen von Geburten angesammelt —

Word by Word

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• yām: which
• yām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; viśeṣaṇa of 'gatim'

• gatim: path/goal/state
• gatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• gatāḥ: having gone/attained
• gatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु) + gata (कृदन्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Past passive participle (क्त/ktá), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; used predicatively with 'te'

• pārtha: O Pārtha (Arjuna)
• pārtha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Niṣedha-avyaya (निषेध-अव्यय)

• tām: that
• tām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; refers to 'gatim'

• gacchanti: go/attain
• gacchanti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (लट्/Present), Parasmaipada, Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Plural

• yajvinaḥ: sacrificers/ritualists
• yajvinaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• pāpāni: sins
• pāpāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• yāni: which
• yāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; viśeṣaṇa of 'pāpāni'

• kāni: any/whatever
• kāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; used in sense of 'any/whatever'

• syuḥ: might be/should be
• syuḥ: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Liṅ-lakāra (लिङ्/Optative), Parasmaipada, Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Plural

• koṭi-janma-arjitāni: accumulated over crores of births
• koṭi-janma-arjitāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: koṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + janma (प्रातिपदिक) + arjita (कृदन्त)
• Form: Samāsa: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध) sense 'of crores of births'; Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; viśeṣaṇa of 'pāpāni'

• api: even/also
• api: Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya/Avadhāraṇa-avyaya (समुच्चय/अवधारण)

Speaker

Narrator addressing 'Pārtha' (epic-style vocative retained in the Purāṇic narration)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (as addressed in the verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night at a riverside temple: devotees keep vigil with lamps, listening to dharma-kathā; a contrast is implied with distant grand yajña fires and gold-laden ritual paraphernalia.

Characters & Entities

• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• yajvin (sacrificer)
• pāpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Single-minded devotion and vigil on Śivarātri is exalted as a swift purifier, surpassing ordinary ritual merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named; the teaching is a general glorification of Śivarātri within the Revākhaṇḍa’s sacred frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The emphasis is on observing Śivarātri vigil; it is declared to yield an exceptional spiritual destination and sin-destruction.