Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

तत्र ये प्राणिनो दग्धा मृताः कालविपर्ययात् । ते सर्वे मुक्तिमायांति महापातकिनोऽपि वा

Transliteration

tatra ye prāṇino dagdhā mṛtāḥ kālaviparyayāt | te sarve muktimāyāṃti mahāpātakino'pi vā

Translation

Les êtres qui y sont brûlés et meurent par le retournement du temps (l’inéluctable mort), tous parviennent à la délivrance, fussent-ils même de grands pécheurs.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: अधिकरण (Locative/Adhikaraṇa)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb: "there")

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: कर्ता (Subject/Kartā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• प्राणिनः: living beings
• प्राणिनः: कर्ता (Subject/Kartā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राणिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; जीववाचक

• दग्धाः: burnt
• दग्धाः: विशेषण (Adjectival to subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दह् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; "burnt"

• मृताः: dead
• मृताः: विशेषण (Adjectival to subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; "dead"

• कालविपर्ययात्: due to reversal of time / untimely circumstance
• कालविपर्ययात्: अपादान (Ablative/Apādāna; cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक) + विपर्यय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कालस्य विपर्ययः), पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (cause)

• ते: they
• ते: कर्ता (Subject/Kartā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अन्वादेश (correlative pronoun)

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifier of ते)

• मुक्तिम्: liberation
• मुक्तिम्: कर्म (Object/Karman)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्म (object)

• आयान्ति: attain / reach
• आयान्ति: क्रिया (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• महापातकिनः: great sinners
• महापातकिनः: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महापातकिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; (ते) इत्यस्य विशेषणरूपेण

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

• वा: or
• वा: सम्बन्ध/निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive particle: or/indeed)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kālabhairava-smāśāna (Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn cremation-ground sanctified by Bhairava: a funeral pyre at a distance, mourners subdued; above, a protective Bhairava presence as guardian; the atmosphere conveys that even the gravely sinful are carried toward liberation by the kṣetra’s power.

Characters & Entities

• Mukti
• Mahāpātaka (great sins)
• Śmaśāna (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A supremely sanctified place can grant mokṣa beyond ordinary karmic limitations, emphasizing the exceptional power of tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The cremation-ground associated with Kālabhairava in the Kṛtasmara/Brahmakuṇḍa area of Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription; it states the salvific result connected with death/cremation at that place.