Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

द्वादशाब्देन यत्पापमज्ञानज्ञानसंचितम् । तत्क्षणान्नश्यते सर्वं वह्निना तु तुषं यथा

Transliteration

dvādaśābdena yatpāpamajñānajñānasaṃcitam | tatkṣaṇānnaśyate sarvaṃ vahninā tu tuṣaṃ yathā

Translation

പന്ത്രണ്ടു വർഷങ്ങളിൽ അജ്ഞാനത്താലോ അറിഞ്ഞുകൊണ്ടോ സമ്പാദിച്ച പാപം മുഴുവനും ക്ഷണത്തിൽ നശിക്കുന്നു—അഗ്നിയിൽ തൂശ് കത്തിപ്പോകുന്നതുപോലെ.

Word by Word

• dvādaśa-abdena: by (the span of) twelve years
• dvādaśa-abdena: Karaṇa (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + abda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; द्विगुसमास

• yat: which
• yat: Viśeṣaṇa (Determiner of pāpam/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक सर्वनाम (relative)

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• ajñāna-jñāna-saṃcitam: accumulated through ignorance and (even) knowledge
• ajñāna-jñāna-saṃcitam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ajñāna (प्रातिपदिक) + jñāna (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃcita (कृदन्त; √ci/चि "to accumulate" + सम् + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; (ajñāna-jñāna) द्वन्द्व + तत्पुरुष (saṃcita) समास; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त विशेषण (pāpam इत्यस्य)

• tat-kṣaṇāt: from that very moment
• tat-kṣaṇāt: Apādāna (Source/time-point/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमास

• naśyate: perishes/is destroyed
• naśyate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √naś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• sarvam: all (of it)
• sarvam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (pāpam इत्यस्य)

• vahninā: by fire
• vahninā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vahni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Discourse particle (Nipāta/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधसूचक निपात

• tuṣam: chaff/husk
• tuṣam: Dṛṣṭānta-upameya (Example-object/उपमेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• yathā: as/just like
• yathā: Upamā-marker (Comparison/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/तुलना-बोधक

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā (Revā)

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Symbolic purification: a devotee emerges from sacred water radiant; behind them, dark smoke-like forms labeled as sins dissolve; a small fire consumes chaff instantly, illustrating the simile; the atmosphere is bright and cleansed.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True purificatory rites, grounded in dharma, can burn away long-standing karmic impurity swiftly—like fire consuming chaff.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The surrounding Revā Khaṇḍa context glorifies Revā/Narmadā-associated rites as powerful means of purification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse states the effect (rapid pāpa-destruction) as part of the prescribed bathing-and-worship regimen described in adjacent verses.