Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

वसिष्ठस्याग्रतो यस्तु गायत्र्यष्टशतं जपेत् । आजन्ममरणात्पापात्सद्यो मुच्येत मानवः

Transliteration

vasiṣṭhasyāgrato yastu gāyatryaṣṭaśataṃ japet | ājanmamaraṇātpāpātsadyo mucyeta mānavaḥ

Translation

Quiconque, devant Vasiṣṭha, récite la Gāyatrī huit cents fois, est aussitôt délivré des péchés amassés de la naissance jusqu’à la mort.

Word by Word

• वसिष्ठस्य: of Vasiṣṭha
• वसिष्ठस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasiṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अग्रतः: in front (of)
• अग्रतः: Adhikarana (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: agratas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ‘पुरतः/समक्षम्’

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• गायत्री-अष्ट-शतम्: eight hundred (recitations) of the Gāyatrī
• गायत्री-अष्ट-शतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gāyatrī (प्रातिपदिक) + aṣṭa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (अष्टशतम् = 800), तत्पुरुष-सम्बन्धः (गायत्र्याः अष्टशतम्)

• जपेत्: should recite
• जपेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jap (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• आ-जन्य-मरणात्: from birth to death
• आ-जन्य-मरणात्: Adhikarana (Extent/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā (उपसर्ग) + janman (प्रातिपदिक) + maraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; ‘आ’ = पर्यन्त (up to); पञ्चमी-एकवचनार्थे अव्ययवत्: ‘from birth to death’

• पापात्: from sin
• पापात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• सद्यः: immediately
• सद्यः: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ‘तत्क्षणम्’

• मुच्येत: would be freed
• मुच्येत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muc (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive sense)

• मानवः: a man
• मानवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced, Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vasiṣṭha-sannidhi (Arbuda-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa/King (addressed as rājān)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim sits before the serene brahmarṣi Vasiṣṭha at a forest-ashram shrine in Arbuda; rosary in hand, sunrise light, sacred fire nearby, mountains behind.

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Gāyatrī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mantra-japa performed with reverence in the presence of sanctity (a great ṛṣi and his āśrama) is portrayed as a swift purifier of karmic impurity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sacred space before Vasiṣṭha at his āśrama in the Arbuda Khaṇḍa setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Chanting the Gāyatrī mantra eight hundred times (gāyatryaṣṭaśata-japa) before Vasiṣṭha.