Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

मुहूर्तमात्रमपि यो लयं चिंत यति ध्रुवम् । तस्य पापसहस्राणि विलयं यांति तत्क्षणात्

Transliteration

muhūrtamātramapi yo layaṃ ciṃta yati dhruvam | tasya pāpasahasrāṇi vilayaṃ yāṃti tatkṣaṇāt

Translation

Selbst wer nur für einen einzigen Muhūrta die gewissliche Auflösung (von Ich und Welt im Höchsten) fest betrachtet, dem vergehen tausend Sünden augenblicklich, in eben diesem Moment.

Word by Word

• मुहूर्तमात्रम्: only a moment
• मुहूर्तमात्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुहूर्त (प्रातिपदिक) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (मात्रम्=only)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (even/also)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• लयम्: dissolution, absorption
• लयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• चिन्तयति: contemplates, thinks of
• चिन्तयति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चिन्त् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• ध्रुवम्: certainly
• ध्रुवम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-प्रयोग (adverbial accusative: certainly)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पापसहस्राणि: thousands of sins
• पापसहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पापानां सहस्राणि)

• विलयम्: dissolution, destruction
• विलयम्: Karma (Goal/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यान्ति: go, pass into
• यान्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• तत्क्षणात्: at that very instant
• तत्क्षणात्: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; पञ्चमी-अर्थे क्रियाविशेषण (from that very moment)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa–Māhātmya didactic narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A meditator seated in stillness; behind him shadowy forms labeled as 'sins' dissolve like smoke the moment his mind merges into a radiant, formless light.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady contemplation on dissolution into the Supreme has immediate purifying power, burning away accumulated sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse appears within a Tīrthamāhātmya framework, but this specific line emphasizes inner practice (dhyāna) rather than naming a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No external rite is prescribed here; the instruction is meditative contemplation (cintana) on laya for a muhūrta.