Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

सदा शुचिर्देवयाजी तीर्थसारं गृहेगृह । नापः पुनंति पापानि न शैला न महाश्रमाः

Transliteration

sadā śucirdevayājī tīrthasāraṃ gṛhegṛha | nāpaḥ punaṃti pāpāni na śailā na mahāśramāḥ

Translation

എപ്പോഴും ശുചിയായി ദേവാരാധനയിൽ നിരതനായവൻ, ഓരോ വീട്ടിലും തീർത്ഥസാരമായി മാറുന്നു. പാപങ്ങളെ ശുദ്ധീകരിക്കുന്നത് വെറും ജലം മാത്രമല്ല—പർവ്വതങ്ങളും അല്ല, മഹാശ്രമങ്ങളും അല്ല.

Word by Word

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time: always)

• शुचिः: pure
• शुचिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुचि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• देवयाजी: one who worships the gods
• देवयाजी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + याजिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (देवान् यजते इति)

• तीर्थसारम्: the essence of pilgrimage
• तीर्थसारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + सार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (तीर्थस्य सारः)

• गृहे: in a house
• गृहे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• गृह: house (each)
• गृह: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोग (गृहे गृहे = in every house)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation)

• आपः: waters
• आपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (बहुवचन-प्रयोग), प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• पुनन्ति: purify
• पुनन्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पू (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• पापानि: sins
• पापानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• शैलाः: mountains
• शैलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• महाश्रमाः: great hermitages
• महाश्रमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् आश्रमः)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gṛha-tīrtha (home as tīrtha by conduct)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A spotless home shrine with lamp, bilva leaves, and water pot; the worshipper radiates sanctity while symbolic river, mountain, and hermitage appear secondary in the background, indicating their insufficiency without inner purity.

Characters & Entities

• tīrtha
• deva
• pāpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Inner purity and devotion make a person ‘tīrtha-like’; external places and waters alone do not erase sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named; the teaching reframes tīrtha as realized purity present wherever the righteous dwell.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Devayajana (worship of the gods) is praised; bathing and pilgrimage are relativized without inner transformation.