Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

कपालमोचने तीर्थे सर्वपापप्रणाशने । त्रिनेत्रो यत्र निर्मुक्तः पुरा वै ब्रह्महत्यया

Transliteration

kapālamocane tīrthe sarvapāpapraṇāśane | trinetro yatra nirmuktaḥ purā vai brahmahatyayā

Translation

Au Tīrtha de Kapālamocana, qui anéantit tous les péchés—là où jadis le Seigneur aux Trois Yeux fut délivré du péché de brahmahatyā, le meurtre d’un brāhmane.

Word by Word

• kapāla-mocane: at Kapālamocana (the sacred place)
• kapāla-mocane: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapāla (प्रातिपदिक) + mocana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) — कपालस्य मोचनम् (नाम-तीर्थ)

• tīrthe: in the holy ford/place
• tīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• sarva-pāpa-praṇāśane: in the destroyer of all sins
• sarva-pāpa-praṇāśane: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + praṇāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) — सर्वेषां पापानां प्रणाशने; विशेषणम् (तीर्थे)

• trinetraḥ: the three-eyed one (Shiva)
• trinetraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + netra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः — यस्य त्रि नेत्राणि सः (शिवः)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक देशवाचक (relative locative adverb)

• nirmuktaḥ: was freed, released
• nirmuktaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir + √muc (मुच्) (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपसर्गः निर्-

• purā: formerly, long ago
• purā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha/Emphasis (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• brahma-hatyayā: by/through the sin of Brahmin-slaying
• brahma-hatyayā: Hetu/Karana (Cause/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + hatyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/हेतु), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) — ब्राह्मणस्य हत्या

Speaker

Deductive: Skanda (narrating within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa’s Arbuda Khaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapālamocana

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhūpati / Rājan (the king addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (Trinetra) stands at a sacred ford/kuṇḍa named Kapālamocana; the dark personified brahmahatyā (as a shadowy female/phantom) loosens and falls away as waters shimmer; sages witness the release.

Characters & Entities

• Kapālamocana Tīrtha
• Śiva (Trinetra)
• Brahmahatyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrthas sanctified by Śiva’s own acts become powerful means of purification and hope even for grave sins.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapālamocana Tīrtha, praised as sarva-pāpa-praṇāśana (destroyer of all sins).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, visiting/performing rites at Kapālamocana as a prāyaścitta-oriented tīrtha; specific acts (snāna/dāna) are not stated in this verse.