Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 126

Devanagari script

इति वो वर्णितः पुण्यो महीसागरसम्भवः । शृण्वन्संकीर्तयंश्चैव सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते

Transliteration

iti vo varṇitaḥ puṇyo mahīsāgarasambhavaḥ | śṛṇvansaṃkīrtayaṃścaiva sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate

Translation

Thus has been described to you this sacred Mahīsāgarasambhava. One who listens to it, and likewise recites it aloud, is freed from all sins.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• vaḥ: to you/for you
• vaḥ: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी/षष्ठी (Dat/Gen), बहुवचन (Plural), मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम

• varṇitaḥ: has been described
• varṇitaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √varṇ (वर्ण् धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त-क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; कर्मणि (has been described)

• puṇyaḥ: holy/meritorious
• puṇyaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• mahī-sāgara-sambhavaḥ: the origin of the Mahī-sāgara
• mahī-sāgara-sambhavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक) + sāgara (प्रातिपदिक) + sambhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (mahī-sāgarasya sambhavaḥ = origin of the Mahī-sāgara)

• śṛṇvan: hearing
• śṛṇvan: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (श्रु धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त-शतृ (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (one who hears)

• saṃkīrtayan: reciting/praising
• saṃkīrtayan: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√kīrt (कीर्त् धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त-शतृ (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (one who praises/recites)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• sarva-pāpaiḥ: from all sins
• sarva-pāpaiḥ: Apadana (Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural); कर्मधारय (sarvāṇi pāpāni)

• pramucyate: is released/freed
• pramucyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√muc (मुच् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद, कर्मणि/भावे (is freed)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing sages/brāhmaṇas

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahīsāgarasambhava

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (addressed earlier; ‘to you’ in plural)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A recitation gathering: a learned narrator chanting the māhātmya; listeners seated reverently; behind them a symbolic depiction of Mahīsāgarasambhava—water body or sacred emergence—glowing with sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Mahīsāgarasambhava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hearing and reciting a kṣetra-māhātmya is itself a purifying practice that destroys sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Mahīsāgarasambhava account/site within the Guptakṣetra–Koṭitīrtha–Mahīnagaraka cycle.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa (listening) and saṃkīrtana (public recitation/chanting) of the māhātmya.