Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

ध्रुवस्तुतिरियं पुण्या महापातकनाशिनी । ब्रह्महापि विशुद्ध्येत का कथेतर पापिनाम्

Transliteration

dhruvastutiriyaṃ puṇyā mahāpātakanāśinī | brahmahāpi viśuddhyeta kā kathetara pāpinām

Translation

This Dhruva-hymn is holy and destroys the great sins. Even one guilty of brahma-hatyā could be purified by it—what then need be said of other sinners?

Word by Word

• ध्रुवस्तुतिः: the hymn of Dhruva
• ध्रुवस्तुतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक) + स्तुति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (ध्रुवस्य स्तुतिः / ध्रुव-विषया स्तुतिः)

• इयम्: this
• इयम्: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पुण्या: meritorious/holy
• पुण्या: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• महापातकनाशिनी: destroyer of great sins
• महापातकनाशिनी: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + पातक (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशिनी (नाशिन्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (महापातकानां नाशिनी)

• ब्रह्महा: a slayer of a brāhmaṇa
• ब्रह्महा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + हन् (धातु) → हन्-प्रातिपदिक (हन्/हन्-कर्तृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (ब्रह्मणः हन्ता)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle) समुच्चय/अपवादार्थे (even/also)

• विशुद्ध्येत: would become purified
• विशुद्ध्येत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-शुध् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• का: what (need)
• का: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• कथेतर: how much more (to speak)
• कथेतर: Sambandha (Idiomatic particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथ (धातु) → कथ (प्रातिपदिक) + इतर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्राय-प्रयोगः; निपातात्मकं पदम् (idiomatic: ‘what then to say of…’)

• पापिनाम्: of sinners
• पापिनाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पापिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A penitent devotee before a Śiva-liṅga, hands folded, tears of remorse; above, a luminous script-like aura representing the hymn; darkness (sin) dissolving into light around the figure.

Characters & Entities

• Dhruvastuti
• Mahāpātaka
• Brahmahatyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sincere praise (stuti) can function as powerful purification, even for grave transgressions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching belongs to Kāśīkhaṇḍa, aligning the hymn’s power with Kāśī’s broader purificatory fame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Engagement with the Dhruvastuti as a purificatory practice (stotra-japa/recitation).