Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

सारस्वत उवाच । शृणु सर्वं महाराज कथयिष्ये सविस्तरम् । येन वै कथ्यमानेन सर्वपापक्षयो भवेत्

Transliteration

sārasvata uvāca | śṛṇu sarvaṃ mahārāja kathayiṣye savistaram | yena vai kathyamānena sarvapāpakṣayo bhavet

Translation

Sārasvata sprach: „Höre, o großer König; ich werde alles ausführlich berichten—denn durch das bloße Erzählen und Hören davon geschieht die Vernichtung aller Sünden.“

Word by Word

• सारस्वतः: Sārasvata
• सारस्वतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सारस्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; वक्तृ-निर्देश (speaker)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• शृणु: listen
• शृणु: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• महाराज: O great king
• महाराज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (mahān rājā)

• कथयिष्ये: I will narrate
• कथयिष्ये: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कथ् (धातु) (णिच् causative)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• सविस्तरम्: in detail
• सविस्तरम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + विस्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास (sa-vistaram = with detail); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् प्रयोग (adverbial accusative)

• येन: by which
• येन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध/हेतु (by which)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Discourse particle (Nipāta/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• कथ्यमानेन: when it is being narrated / by (its) narration
• कथ्यमानेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कथ् (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शानच्/Passive present participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग—कथ्यमान (being narrated)

• सर्वपापक्षयः: destruction of all sins
• सर्वपापक्षयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + पाप + क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (sarvapāpānāṃ kṣayaḥ)

• भवेत्: would occur / may happen
• भवेत्: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sārasvata

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (unnamed king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sārasvata ṛṣi addresses a great king in a calm assembly, promising a detailed narration whose hearing destroys sins; listeners sit with folded hands near a sacred setting.

Characters & Entities

• Sārasvata
• Mahārāja (king/listener)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hearing and recounting sacred Purāṇic history is itself a purifying dharma that leads to the destruction of sin.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The broader context is the Vastrāpatha-kṣetra māhātmya within Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa, preparing the listener for the site’s sanctifying narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No external ritual is prescribed here; the act of śravaṇa (devotional listening) and kathana (recitation) is presented as the purifying practice.