Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

तस्य जन्मार्जितं पापं तत्क्षणादेव नश्यति । सप्तजन्मार्जितं पापं गायत्र्या नश्यते ध्रुवम्

Transliteration

tasya janmārjitaṃ pāpaṃ tatkṣaṇādeva naśyati | saptajanmārjitaṃ pāpaṃ gāyatryā naśyate dhruvam

Translation

അവന്റെ ഈ ജന്മത്തിൽ സമ്പാദിച്ച പാപം അതേ ക്ഷണത്തിൽ തന്നെ നശിക്കുന്നു. ഗായത്രീജപം കൊണ്ടു ഏഴ് ജന്മങ്ങളിലെ പാപസഞ്ചയവും നിശ്ചയമായി നശിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him/of that
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• जन्मार्जितम्: acquired through birth (i.e., accumulated over births)
• जन्मार्जितम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्जित (कृदन्त; √अर्ज् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तत्क्षणात्: from that very moment
• तत्क्षणात्: Apadana (Ablative/source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphatic)

• नश्यति: perishes/is destroyed
• नश्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• सप्तजन्मार्जितम्: acquired over seven births
• सप्तजन्मार्जितम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्जित (कृदन्त; √अर्ज् + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; समासे पूर्वपदसंख्या-विशेषण

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• गायत्र्या: by (the) Gāyatrī (mantra)
• गायत्र्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गायत्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• नश्यते: is destroyed
• नश्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• ध्रुवम्: certainly
• ध्रुवम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन क्रियाविशेषणवत् (adverbial use of neuter accusative)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pāṇḍunandana (a Pāṇḍava)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at Revā’s bank after snāna, seated in padmāsana, counting japa on a mālā; a subtle aura suggests sins dissolving like ash in water-light.

Characters & Entities

• Gāyatrī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mantra-japa, especially Gāyatrī, is upheld as a potent purifier capable of burning karmic impurities beyond a single lifetime.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching continues the Bhīmeśvara-tīrtha context where such japa is prescribed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Recitation of Gāyatrī (and the one-syllabled mantra) as a means of pāpa-kṣaya.