Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

पुण्यं पवित्रं पापघ्नं ब्रह्महत्यादिशोधकम् । यः पठेदिममध्यायं शृणुयाद्वा समाहितः

Transliteration

puṇyaṃ pavitraṃ pāpaghnaṃ brahmahatyādiśodhakam | yaḥ paṭhedimamadhyāyaṃ śṛṇuyādvā samāhitaḥ

Translation

Dieser Bericht ist verdienstvoll und reinigend, ein Vernichter der Sünden und ein Läuterer selbst von Brahmahatyā und dergleichen. Wer, mit gesammelt ruhigem Geist, dieses Kapitel rezitiert — oder auch nur anhört —

Word by Word

• puṇyam: meritorious
• puṇyam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (meritorious)

• pavitram: purifying
• pavitram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pavitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (purifying)

• pāpaghnam: destroyer of sins
• pāpaghnam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + ghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘पापं हन्ति’ (sin-destroying)

• brahmahatyādiśodhakam: purifier of brahmahatyā and the like
• brahmahatyādiśodhakam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahmahatyā (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + śodhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘ब्रह्महत्या-आदि (महापातक) शोधयति’ (purifier of brahmahatyā etc.)

• yaḥ: whoever
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun: he who)

• paṭhet: should read/recites
• paṭhet: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paṭh (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद (should read/recites)

• imam: this
• imam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (this)

• adhyāyam: chapter
• adhyāyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (object of reading/hearing)

• śṛṇuyāt: should hear
• śṛṇuyāt: Kriyā (Coordinated action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद (should hear/listens)

• vā: or
• vā: Vikalpa (Alternative/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/conjunction): or

• samāhitaḥ: with concentrated mind
• samāhitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of subject/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-√dhā (धातु) → samāhita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle used adjectivally), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘समाहितचित्तः’ (collected/attentive)

Speaker

Sūta (implied, continuing from v.75)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setukhaṇḍa adhyāya (māhātmya as tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred manuscript of the Setukhaṇḍa is recited in a yajña-hall; listeners sit with closed eyes, minds collected; above them, symbolic stains (sins) dissolve into light, indicating purification even of grave transgressions.

Characters & Entities

• brahmahatyā
• adhyāya (chapter)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic śravaṇa (listening) and pāṭha (recitation) are themselves purifying acts, capable of dissolving even severe karmic stains when done with focus.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The chapter’s subject—Lakṣmaṇa-saras/Lakṣmaṇa-tīrtha and the Setu sacred region—is indirectly glorified through its phalaśruti.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Recite (paṭhet) or listen (śṛṇuyāt) to this chapter with a composed, attentive mind (samāhita).