Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

पितरोलोकपालाश्च तथान्ये देवता गणाः । महापातकसंघानां नाशने लोकपावने

Transliteration

pitarolokapālāśca tathānye devatā gaṇāḥ | mahāpātakasaṃghānāṃ nāśane lokapāvane

Translation

S’y trouvent les Pitṛs (ancêtres), les Lokapāla (gardiens des mondes) et d’autres cohortes divines, en ce purificateur des mondes qui anéantit des multitudes de grands péchés.

Word by Word

• pitaraḥ: the Pitṛs (ancestors)
• pitaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• loka-pālāḥ: guardians of the worlds
• loka-pālāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + pāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘लोकस्य पालकाः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/उपपद (likewise)

• anye: other
• anye: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (devatā-gaṇāḥ इत्यस्य)

• devatā-gaṇāḥ: groups of deities
• devatā-gaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devatā (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘देवताः एव गणाः’ इति कर्मधारयवत्/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे (group of deities)

• mahā-pātaka-saṃghānām: of the collections of great sins
• mahā-pātaka-saṃghānām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + pātaka (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃgha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘महापातकानां संघाः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• nāśane: in the destruction
• nāśane: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरणे (in/at the destruction)

• loka-pāvane: world-purifying
• loka-pāvane: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + pāvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (nāśane इत्यस्य/अधिकरणस्य) ‘लोकान् पावयति’ इति

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu-kṣetra (loka-pāvana)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn sacred scene: pilgrims at a coastal tīrtha performing water-offerings to Pitṛs; above them stand the Lokapālas at the four directions; the air filled with divine presence, conveying ‘mahāpātaka-nāśana’.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Lokapālas
• Devatā-gaṇas
• Mahāpātaka (great sins)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Association with a world-purifying tīrtha—honored by gods and ancestors—symbolizes profound purification and the removal of grave sins.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Setu/Gandhamādana sacred region (within Setukhaṇḍa), characterized as lokapāvana, a purifier of worlds.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite in this verse; it emphasizes the tīrtha’s power to destroy mahāpātakas and its divine attendance.