Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

जन्मप्रभृति यत्पापं प्राणिभिः समुपार्जितम् । षडशीतिमुखे दृष्ट्वा तल्लिंगं तु व्यपोहति

Transliteration

janmaprabhṛti yatpāpaṃ prāṇibhiḥ samupārjitam | ṣaḍaśītimukhe dṛṣṭvā talliṃgaṃ tu vyapohati

Translation

Welche Sünde auch immer Lebewesen seit der Geburt angesammelt haben—beim Anblick jenes Liṅga des Herrn mit sechsundachtzig Antlitzen wird sie wahrlich hinweggetilgt.

Word by Word

• जन्म-प्रभृति: from birth onward
• जन्म-प्रभृति: Adverbial (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रभृति (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावः; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः ‘from birth onwards’

• यत्: whatever/that which
• यत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative) (qualifying पापम्)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• प्राणिभिः: by living beings
• प्राणिभिः: Kartr (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राणिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन

• समुपार्जितम्: accumulated
• समुपार्जितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-उप-आर्ज् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ‘accumulated/earned’ (agreeing with पापम्)

• षडशीति-मुखे: in/at the eighty-six-faced (form)
• षडशीति-मुखे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षडशीति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः—षडशीतिः (86) मुखानि यस्य/यत्र; ‘in the eighty-six-faced (liṅga)’

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः; ‘having seen’

• तत्-लिङ्गम्: that liṅga
• तत्-लिङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषवत्—तत् लिङ्गम् (that liṅga)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Particle (Nipāta/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात—विरोध/विशेष (but/indeed)

• व्यपोहति: removes
• व्यपोहति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-अप-ऊह्/अपोह् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; ‘drives away/removes’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (contextual attribution)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ṣaḍaśīti-mukha (Eighty-six-faced) Rudra-liṅga—Kapālīśvara context

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Interlocutor in the Kapālīśvara-māhātmya discourse

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant liṅga emanates light; the devotee beholds it in awe. The ‘eighty-six-faced’ epithet is visualized as a halo of many subtle Rudra faces or a multi-faced aureole around the liṅga, suggesting cosmic omniformity; darkness (sins) disperses like smoke.

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga
• Ṣaḍaśītimukha (Eighty-six-faced form/title)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana of the Lord in a consecrated kṣetra is portrayed as a swift purifier of long-held karmic burdens.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kapālīśvara liṅga in Prabhāsa-kṣetra, praised for powerful sin-destruction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The key act is darśana (seeing) of the liṅga; no additional rite is specified in this verse.