Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

तथा ये मानवास्तत्र पापात्मानोऽपि भूतले । विपाप्मानो भविष्यंति सहसा तव दर्शनात्

Transliteration

tathā ye mānavāstatra pāpātmāno'pi bhūtale | vipāpmāno bhaviṣyaṃti sahasā tava darśanāt

Translation

Und die Menschen dort auf Erden—selbst wenn sie von sündiger Natur sind—werden sogleich von Sünde frei, allein durch deinen Anblick.

Word by Word

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (connective)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; prakāra-avyaya (manner adverb)

• ye: who (those)
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: Sarvanāma (Relative pronoun), Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā-vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• mānavāḥ: humans
• mānavāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā-vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; deśa-avyaya (locative adverb)

• pāpa-ātmānaḥ: sinful-minded
• pāpa-ātmānaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective of mānavāḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Samāsa: karmadhāraya ‘sinful-souled’; Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā-vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha/Emphasis (particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; nipāta (particle)

• bhūtale: on the earth
• bhūtale: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūtala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (Neuter), Saptamī-vibhakti (Locative, 7th), Ekavacana (Singular)

• vi-pāpmānaḥ: sinless / freed from sin
• vi-pāpmānaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective of mānavāḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi (उपसर्ग) + pāpman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā-vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural); vi- as privative/intensifier ‘free from sin’

• bhaviṣyanti: will become
• bhaviṣyanti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: Luṭ-lakāra (Simple Future), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Bahuvacana (Plural), Parasmaipada

• sahasā: suddenly / at once
• sahasā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; kāla/prakāra-avyaya (adverb: suddenly/immediately)

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदik सर्वनाम)
• Form: Sarvanāma (Pronoun), Ṣaṣṭhī-vibhakti (Genitive, 6th), Ekavacana (Singular)

• darśanāt: from (the act of) seeing
• darśanāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (Neuter), Pañcamī-vibhakti (Ablative, 5th), Ekavacana (Singular)

Speaker

Indra (Śakra) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sin-laden travelers arrive; upon seeing the sacred mountain-presence, their dark aura dissolves instantly into clear light—faces soften, hands fold in añjali, and the landscape brightens.

Characters & Entities

• Darśana
• Pāpa
• Vipāpmatā (freedom from sin)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana of a divinely empowered sacred presence can instantly purify, illustrating compassion and transformative grace within tīrtha-dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The holy locale associated with the addressed mountain-born figure in Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya, where darśana itself grants pāpa-kṣaya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The implied practice is darśana (reverent viewing/visitation); no other ritual is specified in this verse.