Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

ऐहिकं पारलौकिक्यं यदृणत्रितयं नृणाम् । तत्सर्वं स्नानमात्रेण तीर्थेऽस्मिन्नश्यति क्षणात्

Transliteration

aihikaṃ pāralaukikyaṃ yadṛṇatritayaṃ nṛṇām | tatsarvaṃ snānamātreṇa tīrthe'sminnaśyati kṣaṇāt

Translation

Whatever threefold debt people bear—of this world and the next—every bit of it is destroyed in an instant by mere bathing at this tīrtha.

Word by Word

• ऐहिकम्: worldly; pertaining to this life
• ऐहिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऐहिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — ‘ऋणत्रितयम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• पारलौकिक्यम्: otherworldly; pertaining to the next world
• पारलौकिक्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पारलौकिक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — ‘ऋणत्रितयम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• यत्: which
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — ‘ऋणत्रितयम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण (relative)

• ऋणत्रितयम्: the threefold debt
• ऋणत्रितयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋण + त्रितय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — द्विगुसमास (त्रयाणि ऋणानि)

• नृणाम्: of men; of humans
• नृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — ‘सर्वम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• सर्वम्: all of it
• सर्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — समस्तवाचक; वाक्ये कर्तृरूपेण

• स्नानमात्रेण: by mere bathing
• स्नानमात्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — तत्पुरुष (स्नानस्य मात्रम् = mere bathing)

• तीर्थे: in the tīrtha
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंस/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — ‘तीर्थे’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• नश्यति: perishes; is destroyed
• नश्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — परस्मैपद

• क्षणात्: in an instant; from a moment
• क्षणात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन — अपादानभावे (from/within a moment)

Speaker

Lomaśa (continued)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ṛṇamocana-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims at the ford perform snāna with sankalpa for release from the three debts; subtle symbolic triad appears—deva (fire/altar), ṛṣi (scripture), pitṛ (tarpana water)—all dissolving into the river’s sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṇamocana Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma portrays certain tirthas as capable of rapidly neutralizing deep karmic burdens, including the traditional ‘three debts’.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ṛṇamocana Tīrtha in Ayodhyā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) alone is presented as sufficient for the stated fruit.