Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

जन्मांतरसहस्रेषु यत्पापं समुपार्जितम् । रुद्रस्थलीं प्रविष्टस्य तत्सर्वं व्रजति क्षयम्

Transliteration

janmāṃtarasahasreṣu yatpāpaṃ samupārjitam | rudrasthalīṃ praviṣṭasya tatsarvaṃ vrajati kṣayam

Translation

ആയിരം ജന്മാന്തരങ്ങളിൽ സമ്പാദിച്ച പാപമെല്ലാം, രുദ്രസ്ഥലിയിൽ പ്രവേശിക്കുന്നവന്റെത് മുഴുവനും ക്ഷയിച്ച് നശിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• जन्मान्तरसहस्रेषु: in thousands of other births
• जन्मान्तरसहस्रेषु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मान्तर (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; समासः—जन्मान्तराणां सहस्रेषु (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-विशेषण (relative pronoun)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• समुपार्जितम्: accumulated
• समुपार्जितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-उप-आ-√अर्ज् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—भूतकृत् (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; पापम् इति विशेषणम्

• रुद्रस्थलीम्: Rudra’s holy ground
• रुद्रस्थलीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः—रुद्रस्य स्थली (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• प्रविष्टस्य: of one who has entered
• प्रविष्टस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्र-√विश् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—भूतकृत् (क्त/PPP) ‘प्रविष्ट’, पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; ‘प्रविष्ट’ इति कर्तरि-प्रयोगे ‘प्रविष्टस्य (जनस्य)’

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshya-Anuvrtti (Correlative/तद्-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अन्वयः—तत् (यत् पापम्)

• सर्वम्: all
• सर्वम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; पापम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• व्रजति: goes
• व्रजति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √व्रज् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• क्षयम्: to destruction/cessation
• क्षयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘क्षयम् व्रजति’ इति कर्म

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rudrasthalī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims crossing a threshold-marker into Rudrasthalī in Kāśī; Rudra’s unseen presence felt as a dark-blue, ash-smeared aura; sins depicted as shadowy forms dissolving at the boundary.

Characters & Entities

• Rudrasthalī
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is framed as transformative: entering a supremely sacred zone can dissolve deep karmic burdens.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rudrasthalī in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The act emphasized is praviśa (entering) the sacred area; no further ritual is specified in this verse.