Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

निष्पापास्ते दिवं याताः सोमनाथप्रभावतः । ब्राह्मणे सङ्गमे तत्र ध्यायमाने वृषध्वजम्

Transliteration

niṣpāpāste divaṃ yātāḥ somanāthaprabhāvataḥ | brāhmaṇe saṅgame tatra dhyāyamāne vṛṣadhvajam

Translation

Sündenlos gelangten sie durch die Macht Somanāthas in den Himmel; dort, an jener Flussvereinigung, während ein Brāhmaṇa auf Vṛṣadhvaja (Śiva), den Stierbannerträger, meditierte.

Word by Word

• निष्पापाः: sinless
• निष्पापाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निः + पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (ते)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• दिवम्: to heaven
• दिवम्: Gati-Karman (Goal/गतिकर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिव्/द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• याताः: went
• याताः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘gone’

• सोमनाथप्रभावतः: due to the power of Somanātha
• सोमनाथप्रभावतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सोमनाथ + प्रभाव + तस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सोमनाथस्य प्रभावः) + तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) ‘because of/from the power of’

• ब्राह्मणे: in/at the brāhmaṇa (place/person)
• ब्राह्मणे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• सङ्गमे: at the confluence/meeting-place
• सङ्गमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सङ्गम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• ध्यायमाने: while (someone) was meditating
• ध्यायमाने: Sati-saptami (Circumstantial/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (शानच्-प्रत्यय, वर्तमानकाले), आत्मनेपद-प्रयोग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• वृषध्वजम्: Vṛṣadhvaja (Śiva)
• वृषध्वजम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृष + ध्वज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (वृषः ध्वजः यस्य सः), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual narration within the Revākhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Somanātha-kṣetra; Brāhmaṇa-saṅgama

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pāṇḍunandana (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a river confluence, a brāhmaṇa sits in meditation on Śiva (Vṛṣadhvaja) with a bull-banner nearby; above, purified souls ascend toward heaven, the aura of Somanātha pervading the scene like moonlight.

Characters & Entities

• Somanātha
• Saṅgama
• Brāhmaṇa
• Vṛṣadhvaja (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A great tirtha’s prabhāva can cleanse sin, and Śiva-meditation at a confluence is depicted as especially potent.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Somanātha and an associated saṅgama (holy confluence) within the Revākhaṇḍa sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dhyāna (meditation) on Vṛṣadhvaja (Śiva) at the saṅgama, alongside the theme of sin-removal through the site’s prabhāva.