Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

चंडालः श्वपचो वाऽपि तिर्यग्योनिगतस्तथा । तस्मिंस्तीर्थे मृतः सम्यगाच्युतं लोकमाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

caṃḍālaḥ śvapaco vā'pi tiryagyonigatastathā | tasmiṃstīrthe mṛtaḥ samyagācyutaṃ lokamāpnuyāt

Translation

Même un caṇḍāla, ou un śvapaca, ou un être né d’une matrice animale—s’il meurt selon la juste voie en ce tīrtha—atteint le monde d’Acyuta, le Seigneur Impérissable.

Word by Word

• caṃḍālaḥ: a caṇḍāla (outcaste)
• caṃḍālaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṃḍāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• śvapacaḥ: a dog-cooker (low caste)
• śvapacaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śvapaca (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (or)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (even/also)

• tiryagyonigataḥ: one who has entered an animal womb/birth
• tiryagyonigataḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tiryak + yoni + gata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) ‘gata’; तत्पुरुषः (tiryagyoniṃ gataḥ = gone to an animal birth); विशेषणम् (caṃḍālaḥ/śvapacaḥ)

• tathā: also
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (also/likewise)

• tasmin: in that
• tasmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; ‘तस्मिन्’ = in that

• tīrthe: at the tīrtha
• tīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; स्थानाधिकरण

• mṛtaḥ: having died
• mṛtaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √mṛ (धातु) → mṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) ‘dead’; कर्तृपदस्य विशेषणम्

• samyak: properly
• samyak: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samyak (अव्यय)
• Form: रीतिवाचक-अव्यय (properly)

• acyutam: Acyuta (Viṣṇu)
• acyutam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: acyuta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; ‘अच्युत-लोकम्’ इत्यत्र विशेषण-रूपेण

• lokam: world, realm
• lokam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; गन्तव्य-कर्म

• āpnuyāt: would attain
• āpnuyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; ‘प्राप्नुयात्’

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sudarśana/Cakratīrtha (contextual)

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the tīrtha bank, a humble outcaste and even animals are shown under the same divine light; Viṣṇu’s presence (Acyuta) is suggested as a compassionate refuge at the moment of death.

Characters & Entities

• Acyuta (Viṣṇu)
• Cakratīrtha (context)
• Prabhāsa Kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha’s grace transcends social or biological birth; sincere, proper end at the sacred place leads to the highest divine realm.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same sacred tīrtha in the Cakratīrtha/Sudarśana context of Prabhāsa Kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is detailed here; the emphasis is on the salvific power of dying ‘samyak’ (rightly, with proper spiritual orientation) at the tīrtha.