Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

नाम्ना वरुणपदं तच्च पापक्षयकरं भुवि । नभस्ये पौर्णमास्यां च संतर्प्य पितृदेवताः

Transliteration

nāmnā varuṇapadaṃ tacca pāpakṣayakaraṃ bhuvi | nabhasye paurṇamāsyāṃ ca saṃtarpya pitṛdevatāḥ

Translation

Ce tīrtha est nommé Varuṇapada, et sur la terre il opère la destruction des péchés. Et, au jour de pleine lune du mois de Nabhas, après avoir rassasié par des offrandes les divinités Pitṛ…

Word by Word

• nāmnā: by name
• nāmnā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण/हेतुवाचक (by name)

• varuṇapadam: (called) Varuṇa-pada
• varuṇapadam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varuṇa + pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समास: वरुण-पद (वरुणस्य पदम्/स्थानम्)

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• pāpakṣayakaram: causing destruction of sins
• pāpakṣayakaram: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa + kṣaya + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समास: पाप-क्षय-कर (पापस्य क्षयं करोति इति)

• bhuvi: on earth
• bhuvi: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• nabhasye: in (the month of) Nabhasya
• nabhasye: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nabhasya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; मासवाचक (in the month Nabhasya/Bhādrapada)

• paurṇamāsyām: on the full-moon day
• paurṇamāsyām: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paurṇamāsī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• saṃtarpya: having satisfied (offered oblations to)
• saṃtarpya: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ-tṛp (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), धातु: तृप् (तर्पणे) उपसर्ग: सम्

• pitṛdevatāḥ: the Pitṛ-deities (ancestors)
• pitṛdevatāḥ: Karma (Object of saṃtarpya/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ + devatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; समास: पितृ-देवताः (पितर एव देवताः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Dvārakā Māhātmya; specific speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Varuṇapada

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred coastal/riverine tīrtha named Varuṇapada on a luminous full-moon night; pilgrims offer tarpaṇa with cupped hands, water shimmering with moonlight; Varuṇa’s presence suggested by aquatic motifs and a calm, vast horizon.

Characters & Entities

• Varuṇapada
• Pitṛs
• Nabhas (month)
• Paurṇamāsī (full moon)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha worship includes responsibility to ancestors; proper propitiation of the Pitṛs at an auspicious time supports purification and well-being.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Varuṇapada, a sin-destroying tīrtha established by Varuṇa at Dvārakā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pitṛ-tarpaṇa/propitiation on Nabhas month’s Paurṇimā (full moon) in connection with the tīrtha.