Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 108

Devanagari script

ब्रह्महत्यादिपापानि इह लोके कृतान्यपि । अकामतः कामतो वा तानि नश्यंति तत्क्षणात्

Transliteration

brahmahatyādipāpāni iha loke kṛtānyapi | akāmataḥ kāmato vā tāni naśyaṃti tatkṣaṇāt

Translation

Les péchés, à commencer par la brahmahatyā —la faute la plus grave—, même commis en ce monde, qu’ils soient involontaires ou délibérés, périssent à l’instant.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्महत्या-आदि-पापानि: sins such as brahmahatyā (brahmin-slaying)
• ब्रह्महत्या-आदि-पापानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक) + पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (आदि-शब्देन सह ‘ब्रह्महत्या-आदि’ इति, ततः ‘...पापानि’ इति)

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• कृतानि: done/committed
• कृतानि: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ‘पापानि’ इति विशेषणम्

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

• अकामतः: unintentionally
• अकामतः: Hetu (Cause/Manner/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अकामतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb) — ‘अकामेन/अनिच्छया’ इत्यर्थे

• कामतः: intentionally
• कामतः: Hetu (Cause/Manner/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कामतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb) — ‘कामेन/इच्छया’ इत्यर्थे

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle)

• तानि: those (sins)
• तानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ‘पापानि’ इत्यस्य पुनरुक्ति/अन्वादेशः

• नश्यन्ति: perish/are destroyed
• नश्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तत्क्षणात्: immediately, at that very moment
• तत्क्षणात्: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास; पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्ययवत् (ablatival sense) — ‘तस्मिन् क्षणे एव/तत्क्षणात्’

Speaker

The presiding deity of Prabhāsa-kṣetra (in the stotra-phala sequence)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kṛṣṇa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic purification: heavy dark clouds labeled with grave sins (brahmahatyā etc.) shatter instantly as a beam of mantra-light emerges from the chanter at Prabhāsa, revealing clear sky and calm sea.

Characters & Entities

• brahmahatyā
• pāpa (sin)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace, accessed through the prescribed devotion, is portrayed as stronger than even the heaviest karmic stains.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The claim is part of Prabhāsa-kṣetra’s Māhātmya, implying Prabhāsa’s exceptional purificatory power (especially via the hymn).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse itself states the effect (instant pāpa-nāśa); in context it is tied to stotra recitation described in adjacent verses.