Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 89

Devanagari script

योंतिकस्थोऽपि दूरस्थः पापोपहृतचेतसाम् । अपरिच्छेद्य धामासौ शिवो नः परमा गतिः

Transliteration

yoṃtikastho'pi dūrasthaḥ pāpopahṛtacetasām | aparicchedya dhāmāsau śivo naḥ paramā gatiḥ

Translation

Bien qu’il soit tout proche, il est lointain pour ceux dont l’esprit est emporté par le péché ; sa demeure est sans mesure. Ce Śiva est notre refuge suprême.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘who’ (पाठे ‘yoṃ’ = ‘yo’ + अनुस्वार-लेखभेद)

• antikasthaḥ: standing near
• antikasthaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: antika (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-आधार)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सप्तमी: ‘अन्तिके स्थितः’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — विशेषण

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• dūrasthaḥ: standing far away
• dūrasthaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dūra (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-आधार)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सप्तमी: ‘दूरे स्थितः’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — विशेषण

• pāpa-upahṛta-cetasām: of those whose minds are seized by sin
• pāpa-upahṛta-cetasām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + upa+hṛ (धातु) + क्त (भूतकृदन्त) + cetas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारय/बहुपद: ‘पापेन उपहृतं चेतः येषाम्’), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक-समूह — ‘of those whose minds are carried off by sin’

• aparicchedya: indescribable, immeasurable
• aparicchedya: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a+pari+chid (धातु) + यत्/ण्यत् (भाव्य-कृदन्त)
• Form: भाव्य-कृदन्त (gerundive: ‘not to be delimited’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-प्रयोगानुसार; अत्र विशेषण (of dhāma)

• dhāma: abode, splendor
• dhāma: Pradhāna (Predicate complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘abode/splendor’

• asau: that one (he)
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘that (he)’

• śivaḥ: Śiva
• śivaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — समानाधिकरण (with asau)

• naḥ: our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन — ‘our’

• paramā: supreme
• paramā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — विशेषण (of gatiḥ)

• gatiḥ: goal, refuge
• gatiḥ: Pradhāna (Predicate complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Rājaputra (continuing reply)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee stands close to a Śiva-liṅga yet feels distant, shown by a veil/darkness around the mind; as sin lifts, the veil thins and the immeasurable luminous abode opens behind Śiva.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Pāpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sin clouds perception: the Divine may be near, yet seems distant; purification and devotion restore closeness to Śiva.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No explicit tīrtha is given; the verse speaks of Śiva’s immeasurable dhāma in a universal sense.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it implies ethical purification as a prerequisite for realizing divine nearness.