Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

स्मरणात्तस्य तीर्थस्य नामसंकीर्तनादपि । मृत्युकालभवाद्वापि पापं त्यक्ष्यति सुव्रते

Transliteration

smaraṇāttasya tīrthasya nāmasaṃkīrtanādapi | mṛtyukālabhavādvāpi pāpaṃ tyakṣyati suvrate

Translation

Ô femme aux vœux nobles, rien qu’en se souvenant de ce tīrtha, ou en chantant son nom—même à l’heure de la mort—on rejette le péché.

Word by Word

• smaraṇāt: from remembering
• smaraṇāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• tasya: of that
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• tīrthasya: of the tīrtha
• tīrthasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• nāma-saṃkīrtanāt: from chanting the name
• nāma-saṃkīrtanāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkīrtana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—तत्पुरुष (नाम्नः संकीर्तनम्)

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध/बल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-निपात (particle: 'even/also')

• mṛtyu-kāla-bhavāt: even from what arises at the time of death
• mṛtyu-kāla-bhavāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + bhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—तत्पुरुष (मृत्युकाले भवः/सम्भवः)

• vā: or
• vā: Vikalpa (Alternative/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle: 'or')

• api: even
• api: Emphasis (बल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-निपात (particle: 'even')

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• tyakṣyati: will abandon/leave
• tyakṣyati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tyaj (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• suvrate: O you of good vows
• suvrate: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su-vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—कर्मधारय (सुन्दरं व्रतं यस्य)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A woman addressed as ‘suvrate’ (noble-vowed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at the threshold of death softly recites ‘Prabhāsa’/‘Somnātha’; subtle dark forms of pāpa dissolve into light while the sea-wind and temple silhouette appear in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha (unnamed here, contextually Prabhāsa/Sarasvatī-saṅgama)
• Nāma-saṅkīrtana
• Mṛtyukāla (time of death)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred remembrance and name-recitation are themselves purifying acts, effective even at life’s final moment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse refers to “that tīrtha” in context—within this adhyāya’s flow, the Prabhāsa-associated tīrtha(s), especially the Sarasvatī confluence tradition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Smaraṇa (remembrance) and nāma-saṅkīrtana (chanting the tīrtha’s name), including as an end-of-life practice.