Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

तत्र ये प्राणिनो दग्धा मृताः कालविपर्ययात् । ते सर्वे मुक्तिमायांति महापातकिनोऽपि वा

Transliteration

tatra ye prāṇino dagdhā mṛtāḥ kālaviparyayāt | te sarve muktimāyāṃti mahāpātakino'pi vā

Translation

Those living beings who are burned there and die due to the turn of time (death’s inevitability)—all of them attain liberation, even if they are great sinners.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: अधिकरण (Locative/Adhikaraṇa)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb: "there")

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: कर्ता (Subject/Kartā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• प्राणिनः: living beings
• प्राणिनः: कर्ता (Subject/Kartā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राणिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; जीववाचक

• दग्धाः: burnt
• दग्धाः: विशेषण (Adjectival to subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दह् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; "burnt"

• मृताः: dead
• मृताः: विशेषण (Adjectival to subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; "dead"

• कालविपर्ययात्: due to reversal of time / untimely circumstance
• कालविपर्ययात्: अपादान (Ablative/Apādāna; cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक) + विपर्यय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कालस्य विपर्ययः), पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (cause)

• ते: they
• ते: कर्ता (Subject/Kartā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अन्वादेश (correlative pronoun)

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifier of ते)

• मुक्तिम्: liberation
• मुक्तिम्: कर्म (Object/Karman)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्म (object)

• आयान्ति: attain / reach
• आयान्ति: क्रिया (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• महापातकिनः: great sinners
• महापातकिनः: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महापातकिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; (ते) इत्यस्य विशेषणरूपेण

• अपि: even
• अपि: सम्बन्ध/निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (particle: even/also)

• वा: or
• वा: सम्बन्ध/निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive particle: or/indeed)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kālabhairava-smāśāna (Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn cremation-ground sanctified by Bhairava: a funeral pyre at a distance, mourners subdued; above, a protective Bhairava presence as guardian; the atmosphere conveys that even the gravely sinful are carried toward liberation by the kṣetra’s power.

Characters & Entities

• Mukti
• Mahāpātaka (great sins)
• Śmaśāna (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A supremely sanctified place can grant mokṣa beyond ordinary karmic limitations, emphasizing the exceptional power of tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The cremation-ground associated with Kālabhairava in the Kṛtasmara/Brahmakuṇḍa area of Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription; it states the salvific result connected with death/cremation at that place.