Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

यद्दृष्ट्वा मुच्यते पापात्प्रसंगेनापि मानवः । तत्तीर्थं सर्वतीर्थानां पावनं प्रवरं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

yaddṛṣṭvā mucyate pāpātprasaṃgenāpi mānavaḥ | tattīrthaṃ sarvatīrthānāṃ pāvanaṃ pravaraṃ smṛtam

Translation

Ce tīrtha—qu’il suffit de voir pour qu’un homme soit délivré du péché, fût-ce par simple hasard—est tenu pour le plus éminent purificateur parmi tous les tīrtha.

Word by Word

• yat: which (place)
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Converb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) → dṛṣṭvā (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive): ‘having seen’

• mucyate: is released
• mucyate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muc (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive): ‘is freed’

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

• prasaṅgena: by mere contact/association
• prasaṅgena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prasaṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; हेतौ/निमित्ते (by occasion/association)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; even)

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

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; निर्देश

• tīrtham: holy place
• tīrtham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• sarva-tīrthānām: of all holy places
• sarva-tīrthānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘सर्वेषां तीर्थानाम्’

• pāvanam: purifying
• pāvanam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘tīrtham’ इति विशेषण

• pravaram: excellent, foremost
• pravaram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pravara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘tīrtham’ इति विशेषण

• smṛtam: is called/considered
• smṛtam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) → smṛta (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मणि-भाव: ‘is said/considered’

Speaker

Deductive (Dvārakā Māhātmya narrator within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa; traditionally Sūta speaking in Purāṇic frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā-tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A traveler glimpses Dvārakā’s sacred shore and temple spire from afar; a dark cloud of ‘pāpa’ dissolves into light as the ocean horizon and temple banner come into view.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana (holy sight) itself is transformative—contact with a true tīrtha purifies even without elaborate effort.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage is praising the tīrtha later identified in this adhyāya as Cakratīrtha at Dvārakā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite here—this verse highlights the fruit of mere darśana (seeing) of the tīrtha.