Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

जन्मनां च सहस्रेण यत्पापं कुरुते नरः । स्नानादेवास्य नश्येत सागरे लवणांभसि

Transliteration

janmanāṃ ca sahasreṇa yatpāpaṃ kurute naraḥ | snānādevāsya naśyeta sāgare lavaṇāṃbhasi

Translation

Quel que soit le péché qu’un homme commette au cours de mille naissances, par le seul bain il s’évanouit pour lui dans les eaux salées de l’océan.

Word by Word

• जन्मनाम्: of births
• जन्मनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन — 'of births'

• च: and
• च: Avyaya (Conjunction/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction) — 'and'

• सहस्रेण: by a thousand
• सहस्रेण: Karana (Measure/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन — 'by a thousand'

• यत्: which
• यत्: Visheshana (Relative qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-विशेषण — 'which' (qualifying पापम्)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — 'sin'

• कुरुते: commits
• कुरुते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — 'does/commits'

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — 'a man'

• स्नानात्: by bathing
• स्नानात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन — 'from/through bathing'

• एव: indeed
• एव: Avyaya (Emphasis/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण (emphatic particle) — 'indeed/only'

• अस्य: of him
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — 'of him/for him'

• नश्येत: would be destroyed
• नश्येत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — 'would perish/be destroyed'

• सागरे: in the ocean
• सागरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन — 'in the ocean'

• लवणांभसि: in salty water
• लवणांभसि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लवण-अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय: 'लवणम् अम्भः' (salty water)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from section flow)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at dawn steps into the foaming salt sea at Prabhāsa; distant temple spires and a Śiva-liṅga shrine silhouette the horizon; conch-sounds and waves mingle as the bather offers arghya.

Characters & Entities

• sāgara (ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma emphasizes the extraordinary purificatory power of tīrtha-snāna when performed in a sanctified geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sacred sea associated with Prabhāsa-kṣetra (within the Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya context).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) in the ocean (lavaṇāmbhas).