Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

संचितं यद्ग्रहस्थेन पापमामरणांतिकम् । निर्धक्ष्यति हि तत्सर्वमेकरात्रोषितो यतिः

Transliteration

saṃcitaṃ yadgrahasthena pāpamāmaraṇāṃtikam | nirdhakṣyati hi tatsarvamekarātroṣito yatiḥ

Translation

Tout le péché amassé par le maître de maison jusqu’au terme même de la vie—oui, le yati qui demeure ne fût-ce qu’une seule nuit le consume entièrement par le feu.

Word by Word

• संचितम्: accumulated
• संचितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संचित (कृदन्त; √चि "to collect" + सम् उपसर्ग)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) — Neuter, Nom/Acc Singular; past passive participle

• यत्: which
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम — Neuter Nom/Acc Singular; relative pronoun

• गृहस्थेन: by a householder
• गृहस्थेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृहस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine Instrumental Singular

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन — Neuter Nom/Acc Singular

• आमरणान्तिकम्: lasting until death
• आमरणान्तिकम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-मरण-अन्तिक (प्रातिपदिक; अव्ययीभाव-समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण — Neuter Nom/Acc Singular; adjective; (आ + मरण + अन्तिक) = 'up to death'

• निर्धक्ष्यति: will burn away
• निर्धक्ष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दह् (धातु) + निर् उपसर्ग
• Form: लृट्-लकार (भविष्यत्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम् — Simple Future, 3rd person singular, parasmaipada

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन — Neuter Nom/Acc Singular; demonstrative pronoun

• सर्वम्: all
• सर्वम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण — Neuter Nom/Acc Singular

• एकरात्रोषितः: having stayed for one night
• एकरात्रोषितः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक-रात्र-उषित (कृदन्त; √वस् "to dwell"; क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण; (एकरात्रे उषितः) — Masculine Nom Singular; past participle 'having stayed for one night'

• यतिः: an ascetic
• यतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine Nominative Singular

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A saffron-clad yati arrives at night in lamp-lit Kāśī lanes, the Gaṅgā shimmering; a subtle aura of fire-like purification surrounds him as accumulated sins are symbolically consumed.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Yati (renunciate)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even brief contact with true renunciation in Kāśī is portrayed as powerfully purifying, burning accumulated karmic sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is the implied sacred field in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A single-night stay (eka-rātra-vāsa) by a yati/renunciate is highlighted as spiritually efficacious.