Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 122

Devanagari script

अश्वक्रान्ते रथक्रान्ते विष्णुक्रान्ते वसुंधरे । मृत्तिके हर मे पापं जन्मकोटिशतार्जितम्

Transliteration

aśvakrānte rathakrānte viṣṇukrānte vasuṃdhare | mṛttike hara me pāpaṃ janmakoṭiśatārjitam

Translation

Ô Terre, sanctifiée par l’empreinte du cheval, du char et de Viṣṇu ; ô argile sacrée, enlève mes péchés amassés au cours de centaines de millions de naissances.

Word by Word

• अश्वक्रान्ते: O (earth) trodden by a horse
• अश्वक्रान्ते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व (प्रातिपदिक) + क्रान्त (√क्रम् धातु, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; ‘अश्वक्रान्ता’ इति नाम, सम्बोधनरूप ‘-े’

• रथक्रान्ते: O (earth) trodden by a chariot
• रथक्रान्ते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ (प्रातिपदिक) + क्रान्त (√क्रम् धातु, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; नामरूप

• विष्णुक्रान्ते: O (earth) trodden by Viṣṇu
• विष्णुक्रान्ते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक) + क्रान्त (√क्रम् धातु, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; नामरूप

• वसुंधरे: O Earth (Vasundharā)
• वसुंधरे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुंधरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• मृत्तिके: O clay/holy earth
• मृत्तिके: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्तिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• हर: remove / take away
• हर: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √हृ (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (आज्ञार्थ/imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मे: my
• मे: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• जन्मकोटिशतार्जितम्: accumulated over hundreds of crores of births
• जन्मकोटिशतार्जितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन्म (प्रातिपदिक) + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्जित (√अर्ज् धातु, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘पापम्’ इति पदस्य विशेषण; समासार्थः—जन्मकोटिशतैः अर्जितम्

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (contextual attribution within Āvantya Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīra mṛttikā

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close-up ritual moment: pilgrim holds a pinch of sacred clay, the Earth-goddess subtly present; above, symbolic horse and chariot tracks and Viṣṇu’s cosmic stride appear as luminous imprints; the pilgrim prays for sins of countless births to be removed.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Vasundharā (Earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Approaching a tīrtha with humility, one prays for deep karmic cleansing—even sins believed to span countless births.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā/Narmadā sacred region (Revā Khaṇḍa) where even earth and clay are treated as purifying.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Invoking the sanctity of the place’s mṛttikā (holy clay/earth) as part of purification before/alongside tīrtha bathing.