Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

एकदा तत्र चाऽयाता मुनयः शंसितव्रताः । तीर्थे पापहरे पुण्ये विश्वामित्रसमुद्भवे

Transliteration

ekadā tatra cā'yātā munayaḥ śaṃsitavratāḥ | tīrthe pāpahare puṇye viśvāmitrasamudbhave

Translation

ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧವ್ರತದ ಮುನಿಗಳು ಬಂದರು—ವಿಶ್ವಾಮಿತ್ರಸಮುದ್ಭವವಾದ, ಪಾಪಹರ ಮತ್ತು ಪುಣ್ಯಪ್ರದವಾದ ಆ ತೀರ್ಥಕ್ಕೆ।

Word by Word

• ekadā: once
• ekadā: Kāla-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eka + dā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (once)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Desha-adhikarana (Place/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (there)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• āyātāḥ: came
• āyātāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā + yā (धातु) → āyāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); प्रथमा बहुवचन पुंलिङ्ग; ‘मुनयः’ इति विशेषणम्; अर्थः ‘आगताः’ (having come)

• munayaḥ: sages
• munayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन; ‘मुनि’ = sages

• śaṃsita-vratāḥ: of praised vows
• śaṃsita-vratāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śaṃsita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (śaṃsitāni vratāni yeṣām) = whose vows are praised/approved

• tīrthe: at the pilgrimage place
• tīrthe: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन; ‘तीर्थे’ = at the sacred ford

• pāpa-hare: sin-destroying
• pāpa-hare: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (pāpaṃ harati) = sin-removing; ‘तीर्थे’ इति विशेषणम्

• puṇye: holy
• puṇye: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन; ‘तीर्थे’ इति विशेषणम्; अर्थः ‘पवित्रे’ (holy/meritorious)

• viśvāmitra-samudbhave: originating from Viśvāmitra
• viśvāmitra-samudbhave: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viśvāmitra (प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (viśvāmitrāt samudbhavaḥ) = arisen from Viśvāmitra; ‘तीर्थे’ इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from narrative flow)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viśvāmitra-samudbhava tīrtha (epithet; proper name not supplied)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of austere sages with famed vows arrive at a luminous tīrtha; the water/body of the tīrtha subtly bears Viśvāmitra’s presence—through a staff, kamandalu, or aura—signifying origin.

Characters & Entities

• Munis
• Viśvāmitra
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s greatness is affirmed by its power to remove sin and by the continual visitation of vow-observing sages.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A ‘viśvāmitra-samudbhava’ (arisen from Viśvāmitra) pāpahara tīrtha is explicitly referenced.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; it emphasizes the tīrtha’s pāpahara nature and the exemplary presence of sages.