Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

विहाय मथुरां काशीमवन्तीं सर्वपापहाम् । मायां कांचीमयोध्यां च संप्राप्ते च कलौ युगे

Transliteration

vihāya mathurāṃ kāśīmavantīṃ sarvapāpahām | māyāṃ kāṃcīmayodhyāṃ ca saṃprāpte ca kalau yuge

Translation

Lorsque l’âge de Kali est advenu, mettant de côté Mathurā, Kāśī, Avantī qui détruit tous les péchés, ainsi que Māyā (Haridvāra), Kāñcī et Ayodhyā—

Word by Word

• विहाय: having abandoned/after leaving
• विहाय: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वि-हā (धातु) → विहाय (क्त्वान्त/अव्ययभाव)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययप्रयोगः; धातु: √हा (to abandon) उपसर्ग: वि-

• मथुराम्: Mathurā
• मथुराम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मथुरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• काशीम्: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• काशीम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अवन्तीम्: Avantī (Ujjayinī)
• अवन्तीम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवन्ती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सर्वपापहाम्: destroyer of all sins
• सर्वपापहाम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + पाप + हन् (धातु/प्रातिपदिक: हन् → ह (हनन्) ‘slayer’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेषां पापानां हन्त्री)

• मायाम्: Māyā (name of a city/region)
• मायाम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• काञ्चीम्: Kāñcī
• काञ्चीम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काञ्ची (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अयोध्याम्: Ayodhyā
• अयोध्याम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयोध्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• संप्राप्ते: when (it) has arrived/when it has come
• संप्राप्ते: Adhikaraṇa (Locative circumstance)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-प्र-आप् (धातु) → संप्राप्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-सम्भव (सन्दर्भे ‘कलौ युगे’ इति अधिकरणे)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• कलौ: in Kali (age)
• कलौ: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• युगे: in the age/era
• युगे: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Viṣṇu (deduced; continuation into first-person residence in next verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A map-like procession of six famed cities, each shown with its iconic markers—Mathurā’s Yamunā ghāṭs, Kāśī’s ghāṭs and liṅga, Avantī’s Mahākāla, Haridvāra’s Gaṅgā, Kāñcī’s temple towers, Ayodhyā’s Sarayū—while a narrator gestures that in Kali-yuga a different focus is required.

Characters & Entities

• Mathurā
• Kāśī
• Avantī (Ujjain)
• Māyā
• Kāñcī
• Ayodhyā
• Kali Yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even among famed tīrthas, the text prepares to elevate a Kali-yuga-accessible refuge by contrasting other celebrated holy cities.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate context is Dvārakā Māhātmya; the verse lists other tīrthas as a prelude to Dvārakā’s special status in Kali Yuga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it is a tīrtha-hierarchy statement within Kali-yuga framing.