Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

इति ते कथितं देवि ह्यक्षमालेश्वरोद्भवम् । माहात्म्यं पापशमनं श्रुतं दुःखनिबर्हणम्

Transliteration

iti te kathitaṃ devi hyakṣamāleśvarodbhavam | māhātmyaṃ pāpaśamanaṃ śrutaṃ duḥkhanibarhaṇam

Translation

So, o Göttin, ist dir Ursprung und Größe Akṣamāleśvaras verkündet worden—dieses Māhātmya, das Sünde besänftigt; einmal vernommen, wird es zum Vertreiber des Kummers.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यादि-समाप्त्यर्थ/उद्धरणसूचक (quotative/thus)

• ते: to you/your
• ते: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (2nd person pronoun)

• कथितम्: has been told
• कथितम्: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ् (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भावे/कर्मणि प्रयोगः ‘(इदं) कथितम्’

• देवि: O देवी
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/हेतुबोधक निपात (indeed/for)

• अक्षमालेश्वरोद्भवम्: originating from Akṣamāleśvara
• अक्षमालेश्वरोद्भवम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अक्षमाला (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अक्षमालेश्वरस्य उद्भवम्)

• माहात्म्यम्: the sacred greatness (māhātmya)
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• पापशमनम्: sin-quelling
• पापशमनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + शमन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पापस्य शमनम्)

• श्रुतम्: (it is) heard; has been heard
• श्रुतम्: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; ‘श्रुतम्’ = heard/has been heard

• दुःखनिबर्हणम्: remover of sorrow
• दुःखनिबर्हणम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + निबर्हण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दुःखस्य निबर्हणम् = निवारणम्)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (addressing Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Akṣamāleśvara (māhātmya-śravaṇa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A closing discourse scene: Skanda addresses Devī, concluding the Akṣamāleśvara origin-story; the atmosphere is calm and luminous, suggesting that the very act of listening dissolves sorrow and sin.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Akṣamāleśvara
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hearing and preserving tīrtha-māhātmyas is itself meritorious and is portrayed as spiritually therapeutic—reducing sin and sorrow.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra through the Māhātmya of Akṣamāleśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa—listening to the Māhātmya with faith—is highlighted as beneficial, alongside prior instructions of pūjā and dāna.