Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

एतद्वः सर्वमाख्यातं गंगायमुनयोर्मया । माहात्म्यं ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः सर्वपातकनाशनम्

Transliteration

etadvaḥ sarvamākhyātaṃ gaṃgāyamunayormayā | māhātmyaṃ brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhāḥ sarvapātakanāśanam

Translation

So habe ich euch, o beste der Brāhmaṇas, die ganze Größe von Gaṅgā und Yamunā dargelegt—eine heilige Herrlichkeit, die jede Sünde vernichtet.

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे कर्म-स्थानी (object-like subject)

• वः: to you (all)
• वः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (6th/Genitive or 4th/Dative), बहुवचन; प्रायः चतुर्थी ‘to you’

• सर्वम्: all
• सर्वम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying एतत्)

• आख्यातम्: has been narrated
• आख्यातम्: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-ख्या (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past Passive Participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि—‘has been told’

• गङ्गा-यमुनयोः: of Ganga and Yamuna
• गङ्गा-यमुनयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + यमुना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), द्विवचन

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• माहात्म्यम्: the greatness (glory)
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object/topic/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; वाक्ये विषय/कर्म

• ब्राह्मण-श्रेष्ठाः: O best of Brahmins
• ब्राह्मण-श्रेष्ठाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय—‘श्रेष्ठा ब्राह्मणाः’

• सर्व-पातक-नाशनम्: destroyer of all sins
• सर्व-पातक-नाशनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + पातक (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष—‘सर्वेषां पातकानां नाशनम्’; विशेषण (qualifying माहात्म्यम्)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from immediate narrative style; speaker not explicitly marked in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā–Yamunā-māhātmya (narrated section)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa sages (brāhmaṇa-śreṣṭhāḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teaching assembly: Sūta (or the narrator) seated, addressing attentive brāhmaṇa sages; behind them, symbolic personifications of Gaṅgā and Yamunā or a backdrop of flowing rivers, indicating the completed narration.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Yamunā
• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Remembering and honoring the Gaṅgā and Yamunā as tīrthas is celebrated as a purifier that destroys sin and renews dharmic life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse praises the sacred rivers Gaṅgā and Yamunā themselves—their tīrthas and sanctifying power.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; it serves as a concluding proclamation of the rivers’ sin-destroying māhātmya.