Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

स कदाचित्साधुसंगात्तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगतः । अयोध्यामागतो विप्र महापातककृद्द्विजः

Transliteration

sa kadācitsādhusaṃgāttīrthayātrāprasaṃgataḥ | ayodhyāmāgato vipra mahāpātakakṛddvijaḥ

Translation

Un jour, par le contact des sādhus et à l’occasion d’un pèlerinage aux tīrtha, ce deux-fois-né—bien qu’auteur de grands péchés—parvint à Ayodhyā, ô brāhmane.

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Pronoun), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कदाचित्: once, at some time
• कदाचित्: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• साधुसंगात्: from (good) saintly company
• साधुसंगात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साधु (प्रातिपदिक) + संग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘साधूनां संगः’), अपादानार्थे (from association with the good)

• तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगतः: from the occasion of a pilgrimage
• तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + यात्रा (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रसंग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘तीर्थयात्रायाः प्रसंगः’ = occasion of pilgrimage), अपादानार्थे (due to/from the occasion)

• अयोध्याम्: to Ayodhyā
• अयोध्याम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयोध्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; गत्यर्थक-क्रियायाः कर्म (destination as object)

• आगतः: came
• आगतः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) → आगत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि (having come); उपसर्गः ‘आ’

• विप्र: O Brahmin
• विप्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), पुंलिङ्ग, एकवचन

• महापातककृत्: committer of a great sin
• महापातककृत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + पातक (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्विप्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (‘महापातकं करोति’ = doer of great sin)

• द्विजः: the Brahmin
• द्विजः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘महापातककृत्’ इत्यस्य विशेष्यः

Speaker

Brahmā (deduced; Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa Ayodhyāmāhātmya dialogic style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ayodhyā (as kṣetra; specific tīrtha named in next verse)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Addressed as 'vipra' (brāhmaṇa interlocutor).

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A repentant brāhmaṇa meets serene sādhus on a forest road; they point toward Ayodhyā’s gates and river ghāṭs, initiating his pilgrimage.

Characters & Entities

• Ayodhyā
• sādhu-saṅga
• tīrthayātrā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sādhu-saṅga can redirect even a grievous sinner toward pilgrimage and the path of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ayodhyā is explicitly named as the destination whose māhātmya will be shown through the pilgrim’s transformation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pilgrimage (tīrtha-yātrā) is implied as the turning-point practice leading to cleansing.