Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

ब्रह्महत्या सुरापानं स्तेयं गुर्वंगनागमः । उत्कल्लनं मनःपापं शोधयेद्विष्णु जागरः

Transliteration

brahmahatyā surāpānaṃ steyaṃ gurvaṃganāgamaḥ | utkallanaṃ manaḥpāpaṃ śodhayedviṣṇu jāgaraḥ

Translation

Meurtre d’un brahmane, boisson enivrante, vol, approche de l’épouse du maître, transgression violente et fautes de l’esprit—la veille de Viṣṇu les purifie.

Word by Word

• brahma-hatyā: killing of a brāhmaṇa (brahmahatyā)
• brahma-hatyā: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + hatyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘brahmaṇaḥ hatyā’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom./1st), एकवचन

• surā-pānam: drinking liquor
• surā-pānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surā (प्रातिपदिक) + pāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘surāyāḥ pānam’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; अत्र पाप-समुच्चये प्रथमा

• steyam: theft
• steyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: steya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; अत्र पाप-समुच्चये प्रथमा

• guru-aṅganā-gamaḥ: approaching/violating the teacher’s wife
• guru-aṅganā-gamaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅganā (प्रातिपदिक) + gama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘guroḥ aṅganāyāḥ gamaḥ’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom./1st), एकवचन

• utkallanam: mutilation; cutting up (a sin)
• utkallanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: utkallana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; अत्र पाप-समुच्चये प्रथमा

• manaḥ-pāpam: mental sin
• manaḥ-pāpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘mānasaṃ pāpam’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; अत्र पाप-समुच्चये प्रथमा

• śodhayet: should purify
• śodhayet: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śudh (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे ‘should purify’

• viṣṇu-jāgaraḥ: the vigil for Viṣṇu
• viṣṇu-jāgaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + jāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘viṣṇoḥ jāgaraḥ’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom./1st), एकवचन

Speaker

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

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā (Hari-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājā (addressed as rājann)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night-time vigil in Dvārakā: devotees seated with lamps, conch and cymbals, singing Hari’s names; a central Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa icon; the atmosphere conveys purification from heavy sins.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Mahāpātaka (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional observance centered on Viṣṇu is framed as a powerful purifier, even for grave moral transgressions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā is the implied sacred setting, as this is within the Dvārakā Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Viṣṇu-jāgaraṇa (night-long vigil for Viṣṇu) as a prāyaścitta-like purificatory act.