Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

सुबहून्यपि पापानि कृत्वा जागरणं हरेः । निर्द्दहेन्मेरुतुल्यानि युगकोटिशतान्यपि

Transliteration

subahūnyapi pāpāni kṛtvā jāgaraṇaṃ hareḥ | nirddahenmerutulyāni yugakoṭiśatānyapi

Translation

Selbst wenn man sehr viele Sünden begangen hat, verbrennt man sie durch Haris Nachtwache — Sünden, so gewaltig wie der Berg Meru, selbst die über Hunderte von Krore-Yugas angesammelten.

Word by Word

• सुबहूनि: very many
• सुबहूनि: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन — Accusative plural; qualifies पापानि

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-कारक निपात (even/also)

• पापानि: sins
• पापानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन — Accusative plural; object with कृत्वा

• कृत्वा: having committed
• कृत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund), ‘having done/committed’ — Absolutive from √कृ

• जागरणम्: vigil
• जागरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जागरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन — Accusative singular; object of implied ‘perform’

• हरेः: of Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• निर्दहेत्: would burn up
• निर्दहेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + दह् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (सम्भावना/आज्ञा), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — should burn up/destroys

• मेरुतुल्यानि: (sins) as huge as Mount Meru
• मेरुतुल्यानि: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मेरु + तुल्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन — Accusative plural; ‘equal to Meru’ (qualifying implied ‘sins’)

• युगकोटिशतानि: hundreds of crores of yugas
• युगकोटिशतानि: Karma (Measure/परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग + कोटि + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (परिमाण), बहुवचन — Accusative plural; measure ‘hundreds of crores of yugas’

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-कारक निपात (even)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Dvārakā Māhātmya narrative style within Skanda Purāṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahīpāla (king) (contextual continuity)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic vision: the devotee keeps vigil before Hari; a blazing inner fire rises and consumes dark heaps of sin depicted as mountain-like masses (Meru metaphor) dissolving into light.

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Meru

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sincere religious observance—here, Hari’s vigil—is extolled as a powerful means of moral and spiritual purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā’s Hari-worship context in the Dvārakā Māhātmya section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performing Hari’s jāgaraṇa, described as capable of incinerating vast accumulated sin.