Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

सुबहून्यपि पापानि कृत्वा जागरणं हरेः । निर्द्दहेन्मेरुतुल्यानि युगकोटिशतान्यपि

Transliteration

subahūnyapi pāpāni kṛtvā jāgaraṇaṃ hareḥ | nirddahenmerutulyāni yugakoṭiśatānyapi

Translation

Même après avoir commis d’innombrables péchés, en accomplissant la veille nocturne de Hari on les consume—des péchés aussi massifs que le mont Meru—même ceux amassés durant des centaines de crores de yugas.

Word by Word

• सुबहूनि: very many
• सुबहूनि: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन — Accusative plural; qualifies पापानि

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-कारक निपात (even/also)

• पापानि: sins
• पापानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन — Accusative plural; object with कृत्वा

• कृत्वा: having committed
• कृत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund), ‘having done/committed’ — Absolutive from √कृ

• जागरणम्: vigil
• जागरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जागरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन — Accusative singular; object of implied ‘perform’

• हरेः: of Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• निर्दहेत्: would burn up
• निर्दहेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + दह् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (सम्भावना/आज्ञा), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — should burn up/destroys

• मेरुतुल्यानि: (sins) as huge as Mount Meru
• मेरुतुल्यानि: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मेरु + तुल्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन — Accusative plural; ‘equal to Meru’ (qualifying implied ‘sins’)

• युगकोटिशतानि: hundreds of crores of yugas
• युगकोटिशतानि: Karma (Measure/परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग + कोटि + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (परिमाण), बहुवचन — Accusative plural; measure ‘hundreds of crores of yugas’

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-कारक निपात (even)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Dvārakā Māhātmya narrative style within Skanda Purāṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahīpāla (king) (contextual continuity)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic vision: the devotee keeps vigil before Hari; a blazing inner fire rises and consumes dark heaps of sin depicted as mountain-like masses (Meru metaphor) dissolving into light.

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Meru

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sincere religious observance—here, Hari’s vigil—is extolled as a powerful means of moral and spiritual purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā’s Hari-worship context in the Dvārakā Māhātmya section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performing Hari’s jāgaraṇa, described as capable of incinerating vast accumulated sin.