Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

यद्येकं तुलसीकाष्ठं मध्ये काष्ठस्य यस्य हि । दाहकाले भवेन्मुक्तः पापकोटिशतायुतैः

Transliteration

yadyekaṃ tulasīkāṣṭhaṃ madhye kāṣṭhasya yasya hi | dāhakāle bhavenmuktaḥ pāpakoṭiśatāyutaiḥ

Translation

If, at the time of cremation, even a single piece of tulasī-wood is placed among the other firewood, that person is liberated—freed from sins numbering in tens of millions and more.

Word by Word

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-निपात (conditional particle: if)

• एकम्: one
• एकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• तुलसीकाष्ठम्: tulasī-wood
• तुलसीकाष्ठम्: Karta (Subject in conditional clause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुलसी-काष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तुलस्याः काष्ठम्)

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: Adhikarana (Locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव-प्राय (locative used adverbially: 'in the middle')

• काष्ठस्य: of the wood (pile)
• काष्ठस्य: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• यस्य: whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: indeed/for)

• दाहकाले: at the time of burning
• दाहकाले: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दाह-काल (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दाहस्य कालः)

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• मुक्तः: freed/liberated
• मुक्तः: Karta (Predicate complement/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुक्त (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (PPP) √मुच् (मोचने); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण

• पापकोटिशतायुतैः: from countless sins (lit. by crores-hundreds-ayutas of sins)
• पापकोटिशतायुतैः: Apadana (Separation/from/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप-कोटि-शत-अयुत (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; अपादान/वियोगार्थ (freed from); संख्यासमास-समुच्चय (pāpa-koṭi-śata-ayuta = tens of thousands of hundreds of crores of sins)

Speaker

Prahlāda (within the Dvārakā Māhātmya narration; Sūta resumes at 43.22)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā-kṣetra (context)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close-up of the pyre being arranged: among ordinary logs, a single distinct tulasī-wood piece is placed; subtle dark smoke of sins dissolves into clear light, indicating pāpa-kṣaya and mukti.

Characters & Entities

• Tulasī
• Mokṣa (liberation)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a small act connected to sacred devotion—here, Tulasī—can become a powerful means for purification and liberation at life’s final rite.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger context is the Dvārakā Māhātmya of the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, celebrating Dvārakā’s Vaiṣṇava sanctity and its dharmic practices.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Placing even one piece of Tulasī-wood among the cremation firewood during dāha (cremation).