Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 60

Devanagari script

अपि पापसमाचाराः सर्वधर्मबहिष्कृताः । तत्र स्नात्वा शिलां स्पृष्ट्वा तदैवायांति सद्गतिम्

Transliteration

api pāpasamācārāḥ sarvadharmabahiṣkṛtāḥ | tatra snātvā śilāṃ spṛṣṭvā tadaivāyāṃti sadgatim

Translation

Selbst jene, die in sündhaftem Wandel leben und von allen religiösen Pflichten ausgeschlossen sind, erlangen—wenn sie dort baden und den heiligen Stein berühren—sogleich ein seliges Ziel.

Word by Word

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

• pāpa-samācārāḥ: those of sinful conduct
• pāpa-samācārāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + samācāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः — ‘पापः समाचारा येषाम्’ (habit of sin)

• sarva-dharma-bahiṣkṛtāḥ: excluded from all dharmas
• sarva-dharma-bahiṣkṛtāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + bahiṣkṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः — ‘सर्वधर्मेभ्यः बहिष्कृताः’

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: स्थानवाचक-अव्यय

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund)

• śilām: a stone (sacred slab)
• śilām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• spṛṣṭvā: having touched
• spṛṣṭvā: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: spṛś (स्पृश्) (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund) — ‘having touched’

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kriya-viseshana (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• eva: indeed, immediately
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• āyānti: come/attain
• āyānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-yā (या) (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन

• sad-gatim: good destination
• sad-gatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक) + gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः — ‘सद् एव गतिः’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice; speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sārasvata Mahātīrtha (with Śilā)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sinner-turned-pilgrim steps into sacred waters; hands touch a revered stone on the bank; a dark aura dissolves into light, indicating immediate ‘sadgati’.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A powerful tīrtha can purify even grave sinners when approached with the simple acts of bathing and reverent contact.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A local Nāgarakhaṇḍa tīrtha featuring a revered śilā (later associated with Citraśilā and the Sārasvata-hrada context).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) at the spot and śilā-sparśa (touching the sacred stone).