Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

महासंन्यासिनं ध्यायेच्चातुर्मास्ये विशेषतः । एवं रूपमयं विष्णुं सर्वपापौघहारिणम्

Transliteration

mahāsaṃnyāsinaṃ dhyāyeccāturmāsye viśeṣataḥ | evaṃ rūpamayaṃ viṣṇuṃ sarvapāpaughahāriṇam

Translation

Man soll über Viṣṇu als den großen Entsagenden meditieren, besonders während der Cāturmāsya-Zeit; so in dieser Gestalt betrachtet, nimmt Viṣṇu die ganze Flut der Sünden hinweg.

Word by Word

• महासंन्यासिनम्: the great renunciant
• महासंन्यासिनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + संन्यासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः: महान् संन्यासी (great renunciant)

• ध्यायेत्: should meditate upon
• ध्यायेत्: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya period
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikaraṇa (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; काल-अधिकरण (locative of time)

• विशेषतः: especially
• विशेषतः: Adhikaraṇa (Manner/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतः (अव्यय; विशेष-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (especially)

• एवम्: thus; in this way
• एवम्: Adhikaraṇa (Manner/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (thus/in this manner)

• रूपमयम्: embodied in such a form
• रूपमयम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रूप + मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः: रूपेण मयम् (consisting of form)

• विष्णुम्: Viṣṇu
• विष्णुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• सर्वपापौघहारिणम्: remover of the mass of all sins
• सर्वपापौघहारिणम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + पाप + ओघ + हारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः: सर्वेषां पापानाम् ओघं हरति इति (remover of the flood of all sins)

Speaker

Narratorial voice within Tīrthamāhātmya (deductive attribution)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solitary Viṣṇu envisioned as a great renunciant—matted locks or ascetic simplicity, serene gaze—while a devotee meditates during the rainy-season Cāturmāsya, with subdued monsoon clouds and a tīrtha backdrop.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Seasonal discipline (Cāturmāsya) combined with dhyāna is portrayed as a potent purifier that uproots accumulated wrongdoing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse praises a sacred time-observance (Cāturmāsya) more than a single location, fitting the broader tīrtha-mahātmya ethos of intensified merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Meditate on Viṣṇu in the ‘great renunciant’ form, particularly during Cāturmāsya, for removal of sins.