Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

एतद्वः सर्वमाख्यातं रामह्रदसमुद्भवम् । माहात्म्यं ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः सर्वपातकनाशनम्

Transliteration

etadvaḥ sarvamākhyātaṃ rāmahradasamudbhavam | māhātmyaṃ brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhāḥ sarvapātakanāśanam

Translation

So, o beste der Brāhmaṇas, habe ich euch vollständig die Māhātmya verkündet, die mit Rāmahrada verbunden ist, dem Vernichter aller Sünden.

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वः: to you/for you
• वः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी/षष्ठी-विभक्ति (4th/6th: dative/genitive), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• सर्वम्: all, entire
• सर्वम्: Karma-visheshana (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• आख्यातम्: has been narrated
• आख्यातम्: Kriya (Predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√ख्या (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि: ‘has been told’

• रामह्रदसमुद्भवम्: originating from Rāma-hrada
• रामह्रदसमुद्भवम्: Karma-visheshana (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रामह्रद (प्रातिपदिक; राम + ह्रद) + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक; सम्+उद्+√भू)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘रामह्रदात् समुद्भवम्’ (arisen from Rāma-hrada)

• माहात्म्यम्: the greatness (māhātmya)
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Apposition/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

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

• सर्वपातकनाशनम्: destroying all sins
• सर्वपातकनाशनम्: Karma-visheshana (Appositional qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + पातक (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘सर्वेषां पातकानां नाशनम्’ (destroyer of all sins)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rāmahrada

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (addressed as ‘brāhmaṇa-śreṣṭhāḥ’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta concludes the discourse to the assembled brāhmaṇas; the scene is a teaching hall or forest āśrama with attentive listeners, and a subtle vision of Rāmahrada shimmering behind—signifying that the narrative itself purifies.

Characters & Entities

• Rāmahrada

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are framed as moral-spiritual purifiers; hearing their māhātmya itself is a dhārmic gain.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rāmahrada is explicitly named as the source of the māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new rite is prescribed; the verse formally concludes the exposition and highlights sin-destroying efficacy.