Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

तथा पापानि नश्यन्ति शूलभेदस्य दर्शनात् । प्रत्यक्षो दृश्यतेऽद्यापि प्रत्ययो ह्यवनीपते

Transliteration

tathā pāpāni naśyanti śūlabhedasya darśanāt | pratyakṣo dṛśyate'dyāpi pratyayo hyavanīpate

Translation

so werden auch die Sünden schon durch das bloße Schauen von Śūlabheda vernichtet. Noch heute, o Herr der Erde, ist der Beweis dafür unmittelbar zu sehen, erfahrbar und gewiss.

Word by Word

• tathā: thus / likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; प्रकारवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb 'thus/so')

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

• naśyanti: perish / are destroyed
• naśyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: naś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• śūla-bhedasya: of the Śūlabheda (trident-piercing)
• śūla-bhedasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūla (प्रातिपदिक) + bheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive/6th), एकवचनम् (Singular); समासः: śūla-bheda = 'piercing/splitting by the trident'

• darśanāt: from seeing / by the sight
• darśanāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः (Ablative/5th), एकवचनम् (Singular); हेतुः (cause)

• pratyakṣaḥ: direct / evident
• pratyakṣaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pratyakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (Singular); विशेषणम् (qualifier) प्रत्ययः

• dṛśyate: is seen
• dṛśyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (Passive), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• adyāpi: even today / still now
• adyāpi: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय) + api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; कालवाचक-अव्ययम् (temporal adverb)

• pratyayaḥ: proof / sign / evidence
• pratyayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratyaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (particle 'indeed/for')

• avanīpate: O king
• avanīpate: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avanīpati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः (Vocative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (addressing a king: ‘avanīpate’)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śūlabheda

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Avanīpati / king

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king listens as a sage points toward a sacred liṅga/spot called Śūlabheda; the liṅga radiates; pilgrims approach and, upon seeing, appear relieved and purified; the scene stresses ‘visible proof’.

Characters & Entities

• Śūlabheda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is not merely symbolic—darśana of a powerful tīrtha is presented as a direct means of moral and spiritual purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śūlabheda tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana (reverent viewing/visiting) of the tīrtha is itself the stated practice.