Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

एतत्पुण्यं पापहरं धन्यमायुर्विवर्धनम् । पठतां शृण्वतां चैव सर्वपापक्षयो भवेत्

Transliteration

etatpuṇyaṃ pāpaharaṃ dhanyamāyurvivardhanam | paṭhatāṃ śṛṇvatāṃ caiva sarvapāpakṣayo bhavet

Translation

ഈ കഥനം പുണ്യപ്രദം, പാപഹരം, മംഗളകരം, ആയുസ്സ് വർധിപ്പിക്കുന്നത്. ഇത് പാരായണം ചെയ്യുന്നവർക്കും ശ്രവിക്കുന്നവർക്കും സർവ്വപാപക്ഷയം നിശ്ചയമായി സംഭവിക്കും.

Word by Word

• एतत्-पुण्यम्: this merit/holy (text)
• एतत्-पुण्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (एतत् + पुण्यम्)

• पापहरम्: sin-removing
• पापहरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + हर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः—तत्पुरुष (पापं हरति इति)

• धन्यम्: auspicious/blessed
• धन्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• आयुः-विवर्धनम्: life-increasing
• आयुः-विवर्धनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आयुस् (प्रातिपदिक) + विवर्धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः—तत्पुरुष (आयुषः विवर्धनम्)

• पठताम्: of those who recite
• पठताम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पठ् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ/वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle) षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; धातुः—पठ् (पाठे)

• शृण्वताम्: of those who listen
• शृण्वताम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: शतृ/वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle) षष्ठी, बहुवचन; धातुः—श्रु (श्रवणे)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• सर्व-पाप-क्षयः: destruction of all sins
• सर्व-पाप-क्षयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (सर्वेषां पापानां क्षयः)

• भवेत्: may occur/comes to be
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; धातुः—भू (सत्तायाम्)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from immediate context of Revā Khaṇḍa narration)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: pāṭhakāḥ/śrotāraḥ (reciters and listeners)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage recites from palm-leaf manuscripts to gathered listeners—pilgrims, householders, ascetics—near a riverbank or temple hall; a subtle aura indicates sins dissolving; longevity symbolized by a kalasha and blossoming tree.

Characters & Entities

• Puṇya
• Pāpa-kṣaya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śravaṇa (hearing) and pāṭha (recitation) of tīrtha-māhātmya are themselves purifying disciplines with transformative merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This is a general phalaśruti for the preceding Revā Khaṇḍa tīrtha section (Varuṇeśvara–Vāteśvara and related sites).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Reciting (paṭhana) and listening (śravaṇa) to the sacred narrative.