Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

विपापान्कुरुते यस्माद्विपापा तेन सा स्मृता । विण्मूत्रनिचयां घोरां पांशुशोणितकर्दमाम्

Transliteration

vipāpānkurute yasmādvipāpā tena sā smṛtā | viṇmūtranicayāṃ ghorāṃ pāṃśuśoṇitakardamām

Translation

Weil sie die Menschen von Sünde befreit, wird sie daher als „Vipāpā“ erinnert, die Vernichterin der Verfehlung. Sie beseitigt schreckliche Ansammlungen von Unrat—Haufen von Kot und Urin—sowie Schlamm aus Staub und Blut.

Word by Word

• विपापान्: sinless (persons)
• विपापान्: Karma (Object complement to कुरुते)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणरूपेण (of persons) ‘sinless’

• कुरुते: makes, renders
• कुरुते: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• यस्मात्: because (from which reason)
• यस्मात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुं, पञ्चमी (अपादान/हेतु), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे ‘because’

• विपापा: sin-removing / making sinless
• विपापा: Pratijna/Predicate nominative
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्/नामरूपेण (of सा)

• तेन: therefore
• तेन: Hetu (Reason)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनस्य अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; हेत्वर्थे ‘therefore’

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्मृता: is remembered/called
• स्मृता: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) → स्मृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि—‘is called/remembered’

• विण्मूत्रनिचयाम्: a heap of feces and urine
• विण्मूत्रनिचयाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विण् + मूत्र + निचय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (विण्मूत्रयोः निचयः)

• घोराम्: terrible
• घोराम्: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of निचयाम्)

• पांशुशोणितकर्दमाम्: muddy with dust and blood
• पांशुशोणितकर्दमाम्: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पांशु + शोणित + कर्दम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (पांशुशोणितेन कर्दमा/कर्दमवती) विशेषणम् (of निचयाम्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Revā Khaṇḍa narrative style within Skanda Purāṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vipāpā (Revā/Narmadā epithet)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotees bathe at Revā’s ghat; dark, viscous symbolic impurities (filth, blood-mud) dissolve into clear water, transforming into light; the river remains radiant and untainted.

Characters & Entities

• Vipāpā (Revā/Narmadā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha purifies at every level—moral (pāpa), karmic, and even the most defiling impurities—affirming Narmadā as a powerful means of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā/Narmadā under the epithet ‘Vipāpā’, celebrated for pāpa-nāśa (destruction of sin).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the theme supports tīrtha-snānā and expiatory purification (prāyaścitta) through contact with the river.