Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

अपि पापसहस्राणि कृत्वा मोहेन मानवः । ऊर्जे धर्मनदे स्नातो निष्पापो जायते क्षणात्

Transliteration

api pāpasahasrāṇi kṛtvā mohena mānavaḥ | ūrje dharmanade snāto niṣpāpo jāyate kṣaṇāt

Translation

മനുഷ്യൻ മോഹവശാൽ ആയിരം പാപങ്ങൾ ചെയ്താലും, ഊർജ (കാർത്തിക) കാലത്ത് ധർമനദിയിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്താൽ അവൻ ക്ഷണത്തിൽ തന്നെ നിർപാപനാകും।

Word by Word

• api: even if
• api: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (concessive particle: ‘even if’)

• pāpasahasrāṇi: thousands of sins
• pāpasahasrāṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), बहुवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (पापानां सहस्राणि)

• kṛtvā: having committed
• kṛtvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु) + क्त्वा
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund): ‘having done/committed’

• mohena: through delusion
• mohena: Karana (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: moha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental), एकवचनम्

• mānavaḥ: a man
• mānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• ūrje: in Ūrjā (month)
• ūrje: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ūrj (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्; मास-नाम (ऊर्जः/कार्तिक)

• dharmanade: in the Dharma-river
• dharmanade: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (धर्मस्य नदी)

• snātaḥ: having bathed
• snātaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √snā (स्ना धातु) + क्त
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; क्तान्त (PPP) ‘bathed’

• niṣpāpaḥ: sinless
• niṣpāpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nis- (उपसर्ग) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; निः-उपसर्गयुक्त विशेषण

• jāyate: is born/becomes
• jāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (जन् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्

• kṣaṇāt: in an instant/immediately
• kṣaṇāt: Apadana (Source/Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः (Ablative), एकवचनम्; अवधी-अर्थ (immediately)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmanadī

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A remorseful pilgrim enters Dharmanadī in Kārtika; dark, smoky ‘sin’ motifs dissolve into clear water-light, conveying instantaneous purification.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Dharmanadī
• Ūrja (Kārtika)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Repentance expressed through tīrtha-snāna in a sacred time (Kārtika/Ūrja) is portrayed as radically purifying.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmanadī (a sacred river/stream in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa landscape), especially during Ūrja (Kārtika).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathing (snāna) in Dharmanadī during the month of Ūrja (Kārtika).