Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

अवाह्यवाहिते यत्स्याददोह्यादोहने यथा । स्नानमात्रेण तस्यैवं यान्ति पापान्यनेकधा

Transliteration

avāhyavāhite yatsyādadohyādohane yathā | snānamātreṇa tasyaivaṃ yānti pāpānyanekadhā

Translation

Wie Schuld entsteht, wenn man tragen lässt, was nicht getragen werden soll, oder melkt, was nicht gemolken werden soll—so weichen durch das bloße Bad in jenem heiligen Wasser die Sünden auf vielerlei Weise.

Word by Word

• अवाह्यवाहिते: in (the case of) not being carried and being carried
• अवाह्यवाहिते: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-वाह्य + वाहित (कृदन्त; √वह् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमीविभक्ति (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; द्वन्द्वसमासः (अवाह्ये च वाहिते च) — locative absolute sense ‘in (a case of) non-carriage and carriage’

• यत्: whatever (that)
• यत्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/प्रथमा or 2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचकं सर्वनाम

• स्यात्: would be
• स्यात्: क्रिया (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• अदोह्य: in (a case of) not-to-be-milked
• अदोह्य: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-दोह्य (कृदन्त; √दुह् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमीविभक्ति, एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वकं ‘दोह्य’ (gerundive) — ‘not to be milked’

• आदोहने: in milking
• आदोहने: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आ-दोहन (प्रातिपदिक; √दुह् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमीविभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘milking’ (act)

• यथा: just as
• यथा: सम्बन्ध (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/दृष्टान्तवाचक (comparative particle)

• स्नानमात्रेण: by mere bathing
• स्नानमात्रेण: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘स्नानस्य मात्रम्’ — instrumental ‘by mere bathing’

• तस्य: of that (person/act)
• तस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb)

• यान्ति: go away / depart
• यान्ति: क्रिया (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• पापानि: sins
• पापानि: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• अनेकधा: in many ways
• अनेकधा: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनेकधा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/विभागवाचक (adverb ‘in many ways’)

Speaker

Narrator (tīrtha-snana phala statement)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) Snāna-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims descend stone steps to a broad, calm river; a sage instructs them on purity while symbolic ‘sins’ dissolve like dark smoke over the water.

Characters & Entities

• Snāna (bathing)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-snana is presented as a powerful purifier that dissolves diverse moral faults through sacred contact.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā/Narmadā tīrtha (implied by the surrounding Revākhaṇḍa context).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing), emphasized as effective even when performed as the sole act.