Shloka 323

कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī

Devanagari script

कथमसम्मिंश्व तीर्थे वै आप्लुत्याकल्मषो5भवत्‌ | जनमेजयने पूछा--ब्रह्मन! भगवान्‌ इन्द्रको ब्रह्महत्याका पाप कैसे लगा तथा वे किस प्रकार इस तीर्थमें स्नान करके पापमुक्त हुए थे?

Transliteration

janamejaya uvāca | katham asmin tīrthe vai āplutya akalmaṣo 'bhavat |

Translation

Janamejaya bertanya: “Bagaimana ia, setelah mandi di tīrtha ini, menjadi bebas dari kenajisan? Wahai Brāhmaṇa, bagaimana Indra yang mulia menanggung dosa brahmahatyā, dan dengan cara apa ia dilepaskan dari rasa bersalah itu melalui mandi di tīrtha ini?”

Word by Word

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: masculine/neuter, locative, singular

• तीर्थे: at the sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• आप्लुत्य: having bathed/dipped
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्लु
• Form: absolutive (क्त्वा/ल्यप्), active

• अकल्मषः: free from sin/taint
• अकल्मषः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अकल्मष
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• अभवत्: became/was
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, singular, active

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• Indra
• tīrtha (sacred bathing place)
• Brāhmaṇa (the sage addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the mightiest can incur grave moral taint through wrongful acts; purification requires acknowledgement of fault and recourse to dharmic means of expiation—here symbolized by the sanctifying power of a tīrtha and the discipline of ritual atonement.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janamejaya asks the narrating Brāhmaṇa-sage to explain a specific tradition: how Indra came to bear the guilt of brahmahatyā and how, by bathing at a particular sacred tīrtha, he became free from that impurity.