Shloka 323

कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī

Devanagari script

कथमसम्मिंश्व तीर्थे वै आप्लुत्याकल्मषो5भवत्‌ | जनमेजयने पूछा--ब्रह्मन! भगवान्‌ इन्द्रको ब्रह्महत्याका पाप कैसे लगा तथा वे किस प्रकार इस तीर्थमें स्नान करके पापमुक्त हुए थे?

Transliteration

janamejaya uvāca | katham asmin tīrthe vai āplutya akalmaṣo 'bhavat |

Translation

Janamejaya demanda : «Comment, après s’être baigné dans ce vado sacré, devint-il exempt de souillure ? Ô brāhmane, comment le bienheureux Indra encourut-il le péché de brahmahatyā, et de quelle manière fut-il délivré de cette faute en se baignant dans ce tīrtha ?»

Word by Word

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: masculine/neuter, locative, singular

• तीर्थे: at the sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• आप्लुत्य: having bathed/dipped
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्लु
• Form: absolutive (क्त्वा/ल्यप्), active

• अकल्मषः: free from sin/taint
• अकल्मषः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अकल्मष
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• अभवत्: became/was
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, singular, active

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• Indra
• tīrtha (sacred bathing place)
• Brāhmaṇa (the sage addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the mightiest can incur grave moral taint through wrongful acts; purification requires acknowledgement of fault and recourse to dharmic means of expiation—here symbolized by the sanctifying power of a tīrtha and the discipline of ritual atonement.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janamejaya asks the narrating Brāhmaṇa-sage to explain a specific tradition: how Indra came to bear the guilt of brahmahatyā and how, by bathing at a particular sacred tīrtha, he became free from that impurity.