Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

स्मरणादेव गंगायाः पापसंघातपंजरम् । शतधा भेदमायाति गिरिर्वज्रहतो यथा

Transliteration

smaraṇādeva gaṃgāyāḥ pāpasaṃghātapaṃjaram | śatadhā bhedamāyāti girirvajrahato yathā

Translation

ഗംഗയെ സ്മരിക്കുന്നതുമാത്രം കൊണ്ടു പാപങ്ങളുടെ കൂട്ടം കൂടുപോലെ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നാലും വജ്രാഘാതം കിട്ടിയ പർവ്വതംപോലെ നൂറായി ചിതറിപ്പോകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• स्मरणात्: from (mere) remembrance
• स्मरणात्: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी एकवचन (Abl. sg.)

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Nipāta (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic/only)

• गङ्गायाः: of Ganga
• गङ्गायाः: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचन (Gen. sg.)

• पाप: sin
• पाप: Samāsa-aṅga
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रातिपदिक (compound member)

• संघात: mass, collection
• संघात: Samāsa-aṅga
• Type: Noun
• Root: संघात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रातिपदिक (compound member)

• पंजरम्: the cage/structure of accumulated sins
• पंजरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पंजर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. sg.); समासः: पाप-संघात-पंजरम् (तत्पुरुषः: 'पापसंघातस्य पंजरम्' = cage/structure of a mass of sins)

• शतधा: into a hundred pieces/ways
• शतधा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शतधा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; संख्यावाचक-प्रकारवाचक (adverb: in a hundred ways)

• भेदम्: splitting, breaking
• भेदम्: Gati/Karma (Result-object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (Acc. sg.)

• आयाति: comes to, reaches
• आयाति: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष एकवचन (3rd sg.)

• गिरिः: a mountain
• गिरिः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (Nom. sg.)

• वज्रहतः: struck by a thunderbolt
• वज्रहतः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वज्र (प्रातिपदिक) + हत (हन् धातु, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचन (Nom. sg.); समासः: वज्र-हतः (तत्पुरुषः: 'वज्रेण हतः')

• यथा: as, like
• यथा: Upamāna marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (as)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (smaraṇa-tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī or internal interlocutor (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee far from the river sits in meditation; above, Gaṅgā appears in a luminous vision. Dark, cage-like clusters around the heart crack apart into fragments, like a mountain split by a lightning-thunderbolt.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Vajra (thunderbolt)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even mental devotion—smaraṇa of Gaṅgā—has transformative purifying power, dramatically breaking the structure of accumulated sins.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā is glorified not only as a physical river-tīrtha but also as a spiritual presence accessible through remembrance.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Smaraṇa (remembrance) of Gaṅgā is highlighted as an efficacious devotional practice.