Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

आजन्मशतसाहस्रं यत्पापं कृतवान्नरः । सकृत्स्नानाद्व्यपोहेत पापौघं लवणाम्भसि

Transliteration

ājanmaśatasāhasraṃ yatpāpaṃ kṛtavānnaraḥ | sakṛtsnānādvyapoheta pāpaughaṃ lavaṇāmbhasi

Translation

Quel que soit le péché qu’un homme ait commis au long de centaines de milliers de naissances, par un seul bain dans les eaux salées il repousse ce flot de fautes.

Word by Word

• आ: up to, throughout
• आ: Sambandha (Modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्ग/अव्यय (prefix-like: up to)

• जन्म: birth
• जन्म: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (समासाङ्ग)

• शत: hundred
• शत: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (समासाङ्ग; संख्यावाचक)

• साहस्रम्: thousand (i.e., thousands)
• साहस्रम्: Adhikarana (Extent/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• यत्: whatever/that which
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक (relative pronoun)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• कृतवान्: has done/committed
• कृतवान्: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) + क्तवतु (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतपूर्व-कृदन्त (Perfective past participle/क्तवतु), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• सकृत्: once
• सकृत्: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सकृत् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: once)

• स्नानात्: from/by bathing
• स्नानात्: Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन

• व्यपोहेत: should remove
• व्यपोहेत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + अप + उह्/ऊह् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पापौघम्: flood/mass of sins
• पापौघम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पापानाम् ओघः)

• लवणाम्भसि: in salty water (sea-water)
• लवणाम्भसि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लवण (प्रातिपदिक) + अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (लवणं अम्भः)

Speaker

Śiva (Śaṅkara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Lavaṇāmbhas-tīrtha (saline sacred waters) within Revākhaṇḍa

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim steps into shimmering saline waters; dark, smoky ‘pāpa’ forms dissolve and lift away like foam, while the water glints with crystalline salt under sunlight.

Characters & Entities

• Lavaṇāmbhas (salty waters/ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-snānā is celebrated as extraordinarily purifying, capable of dissolving vast karmic burdens when performed with faith and rule.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ocean (lavaṇāmbhas), praised as a purifier that can remove sins accumulated over innumerable births.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform even a single ritual bath in the salty waters (ocean) to remove a mass of sins.