Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

एतत्स्तोत्रवरं पुण्यं सर्वपातकनाशनम् । दूरदेशांतरस्थोपि जपन्नित्यं नरोत्तमः

Transliteration

etatstotravaraṃ puṇyaṃ sarvapātakanāśanam | dūradeśāṃtarasthopi japannityaṃ narottamaḥ

Translation

Diese vortreffliche, heilige und verdienstvolle Hymne vernichtet alle Sünden. Selbst wenn ein edler Mensch in fernen Ländern weilt, erlangt er durch tägliches Rezitieren ihre reinigende Kraft.

Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun used adjectivally (विशेषण)

• stotra-varam: the excellent hymn
• stotra-varam: Karma/Viṣaya (Object/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: stotra (प्रातिपदिक) + vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘श्रेष्ठं स्तोत्रम्’

• puṇyam: meritorious, holy
• puṇyam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; adjective qualifying stotra-varam

• sarva-pātaka-nāśanam: destroyer of all sins
• sarva-pātaka-nāśanam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pātaka (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—‘सर्वपातकानां नाशनम्’ (destroyer of all sins)

• dūra-deśa-antara-sthaḥ: being in a far-off place
• dūra-deśa-antara-sthaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dūra (प्रातिपदिक) + deśa (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘दूरदेशान्तरस्थः’ (situated in a far-off place)

• api: even, also
• api: Sambandha/Emphasis (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; particle (निपात) meaning ‘even/also’

• japan: reciting
• japan: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jap (जप्) (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्), प्रथमा (1), एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग; present active participle—‘जपन्’ (while reciting)

• nityam: always, daily
• nityam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग/क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्ययवत्; adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• nara-uttamaḥ: the best of men
• nara-uttamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘उत्तमो नरः’

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee in a distant land sits at dawn with a japa-mālā, mentally turning toward Kāśī; in the background, a visionary glimpse of Viśvanātha temple spire and Gaṅgā ghāṭas appears like a sacred mirage, symbolizing ‘distance overcome by devotion’.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular remembrance and chanting of a sacred hymn purifies even deep karmic faults.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is implied as the sacred focus of the praised stotra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Daily japa (repetition/chanting) of this stotra, even while living far away.