Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

तत्र स्नात्वा नरो राजन्मुच्यते ब्रह्महत्यया । कार्त्तिकस्य तु मासस्य कृष्णपक्षे चतुर्दशी

Transliteration

tatra snātvā naro rājanmucyate brahmahatyayā | kārttikasya tu māsasya kṛṣṇapakṣe caturdaśī

Translation

Là, ô Roi, en s’y baignant, l’homme est délivré même du péché du meurtre d’un brāhmane. Cela est surtout prescrit au quatorzième jour lunaire de la quinzaine sombre du mois de Kārttika.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), पूर्वकाले कृत्य (having bathed)

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

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• मुच्यते: is freed
• मुच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive sense)

• ब्रह्महत्यया: from/with the sin of brahmin-slaying
• ब्रह्महत्यया: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/from which freed)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म-हत्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ब्रह्मणः हत्या)

• कार्त्तिकस्य: of Kārttika (month)
• कार्त्तिकस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्त्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• तु: and/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• मासस्य: of the month
• मासस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• कृष्णपक्षे: in the dark fortnight
• कृष्णपक्षे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण-पक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—कर्मधारय (कृष्णः पक्षः)

• चतुर्दशी: the fourteenth lunar day
• चतुर्दशी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); तिथिवाचक

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (likely a narrator addressing a king within Revā Khaṇḍa dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Agastyeśvara

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (Rājendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims bathing at dawn on Kārttika kṛṣṇa caturdaśī at a riverside ghat near Agastyeśvara; lamps flicker, priests chant, the Śiva shrine visible beyond the steps.

Characters & Entities

• Kārttika (month)
• Kṛṣṇapakṣa
• Caturdaśī
• Revā (Narmadā context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sincere tīrtha-bathing, especially when timed with sacred calendrical observances, is praised as a powerful purifier even of the gravest sins.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A tīrtha within the Revā Khaṇḍa (Narmadā/Revā sacred geography) is being extolled; the exact name is not stated in this verse alone.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) at the tīrtha, particularly on Kārttika month’s kṛṣṇapakṣa caturdaśī.