Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

य इमां शृणुयाद्देवि कथां पातकनाशिनीम् । समस्तजन्मसंभूतात्पापान्मुक्तो भवेन्नरः

Transliteration

ya imāṃ śṛṇuyāddevi kathāṃ pātakanāśinīm | samastajanmasaṃbhūtātpāpānmukto bhavennaraḥ

Translation

O Devī, wer diese sündenvernichtende heilige Erzählung hört, wird von den Sünden befreit, die sich über alle Geburten hinweg angesammelt haben.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who (he who)
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधकः (relative pronoun)

• imām: this
• imām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (कथाम् इति)

• śṛṇuyāt: should hear
• śṛṇuyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (श्रु धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (देवी प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• kathām: story, account
• kathām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kathā (कथा प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• pātakanāśinīm: sin-destroying
• pātakanāśinīm: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pātaka (पातक प्रातिपदिक) + nāśinī (नाशिनी प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-तत्पुरुषभावः (पातकं नाशयति इति) विशेषणम् (कथाम्)

• samastajanmasaṃbhūtāt: arisen from all births
• samastajanmasaṃbhūtāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samasta (समस्त प्रातिपदिक) + janma (जन्मन् प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhūta (सम्भूत कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; समासः (समस्त-जन्म-सम्भूत) विशेषणम् (पापात्)

• pāpāt: from sin
• pāpāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (पाप प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• muktaḥ: freed
• muktaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमनाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukta (मुक्त कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √muc मुच्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• bhavet: would become, would be
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (नर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (within Īśvara–Devī dialogue context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (via its kathā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī listens as the sacred account is recited; a circle of sages/priests chant from palm-leaf manuscripts; the listener’s mind is shown as clearing darkness into light, symbolizing release from birth-accumulated sins.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Cyavaneśvara-kathā (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śravaṇa (devout listening) of a tīrtha’s māhātmya is itself a potent purifier in Purāṇic Dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative concerns Cyavaneśvara and associated Prabhāsa Kṣetra tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The implied practice is śravaṇa—listening attentively to the māhātmya as a devotional discipline.