Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

श्लाघ्य एव हि ते मृत्युः पितुरस्माज्जनार्दृनात् । सर्वपातकनिर्मुक्तो गतोऽसौ धाम वैष्णवम्

Transliteration

ślāghya eva hi te mṛtyuḥ piturasmājjanārdṛnāt | sarvapātakanirmukto gato'sau dhāma vaiṣṇavam

Translation

നിശ്ചയമായും ഈ ജനാർദനന്റെ കൈകളാൽ നിന്റെ പിതാവിന്റെ മരണം ശ്ലാഘനീയമാണ്; അദ്ദേഹം സർവ്വപാപങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നു വിമുക്തനായി വൈഷ്ണവ ധാമത്തിലേക്ക് ഗമിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• ślāghyaḥ: praiseworthy
• ślāghyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival to mṛtyuḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ślāghya (प्रातिपदिक; from √ślagh (धातु) ‘to praise’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण (mṛtyuḥ)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• hi: for/indeed
• hi: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• te: your
• te: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• mṛtyuḥ: death
• mṛtyuḥ: Karta/Subject (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• pituḥ: of (your) father
• pituḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• asmāt: from this
• asmāt: Apādāna (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• janārdanāt: from Janārdana (Viṣṇu)
• janārdanāt: Apādāna (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janārdana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; विशेषनाम (Viṣṇu)

• sarvapātakanirmuktaḥ: freed from all sins
• sarvapātakanirmuktaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival to asau)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pātaka (प्रातिपदिक) + nirmukta (कृदन्त; √muc (धातु) with nis-/nir-)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘सर्वेभ्यः पातकेभ्यः निर्मुक्तः’ (freed from all sins); क्त-प्रत्यय

• gataḥ: has gone
• gataḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gata (कृदन्त; √gam (धातु))
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रियासमाना (past participle used predicatively)

• asau: he
• asau: Karta/Subject (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dhāma: abode
• dhāma: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• vaiṣṇavam: of Viṣṇu/Vaiṣṇava
• vaiṣṇavam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival to dhāma)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaiṣṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण (dhāma)

Speaker

Kāmakhyā Devī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vaiṣṇava dhāma (Vaikuṇṭha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhāratarṣabha (royal listener)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A consolatory scene where the speaker declares the deceased’s liberation: a subtle vision of Viṣṇu’s abode—radiant gateway, conch and discus motifs—while mourners’ faces soften into acceptance.

Characters & Entities

• Janārdana (Viṣṇu)
• Vaiṣṇava Dhāma (abode of Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contact with the divine (even through death in a sacred narrative frame) is portrayed as purifying, leading to release from sin and attainment of Viṣṇu’s abode.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No earthly tīrtha is specified; the verse glorifies the transcendent Vaiṣṇava dhāma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the focus is on the salvific result (sarvapātaka-nirmukti and reaching Vaiṣṇava dhāma).