Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

पितरोलोकपालाश्च तथान्ये देवता गणाः । महापातकसंघानां नाशने लोकपावने

Transliteration

pitarolokapālāśca tathānye devatā gaṇāḥ | mahāpātakasaṃghānāṃ nāśane lokapāvane

Translation

Dort sind die Pitṛs (Ahnen), die Lokapālas (Weltwächter) und andere Scharen von Gottheiten — in jenem Läuterer der Welten, der die Menge großer Sünden vernichtet.

Word by Word

• pitaraḥ: the Pitṛs (ancestors)
• pitaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• loka-pālāḥ: guardians of the worlds
• loka-pālāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + pāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘लोकस्य पालकाः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/उपपद (likewise)

• anye: other
• anye: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (devatā-gaṇāḥ इत्यस्य)

• devatā-gaṇāḥ: groups of deities
• devatā-gaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devatā (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘देवताः एव गणाः’ इति कर्मधारयवत्/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे (group of deities)

• mahā-pātaka-saṃghānām: of the collections of great sins
• mahā-pātaka-saṃghānām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + pātaka (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃgha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘महापातकानां संघाः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• nāśane: in the destruction
• nāśane: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरणे (in/at the destruction)

• loka-pāvane: world-purifying
• loka-pāvane: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + pāvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (nāśane इत्यस्य/अधिकरणस्य) ‘लोकान् पावयति’ इति

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu-kṣetra (loka-pāvana)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn sacred scene: pilgrims at a coastal tīrtha performing water-offerings to Pitṛs; above them stand the Lokapālas at the four directions; the air filled with divine presence, conveying ‘mahāpātaka-nāśana’.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Lokapālas
• Devatā-gaṇas
• Mahāpātaka (great sins)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Association with a world-purifying tīrtha—honored by gods and ancestors—symbolizes profound purification and the removal of grave sins.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Setu/Gandhamādana sacred region (within Setukhaṇḍa), characterized as lokapāvana, a purifier of worlds.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite in this verse; it emphasizes the tīrtha’s power to destroy mahāpātakas and its divine attendance.