Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

अष्टमासकृतं पापमज्ञानाज्ज्ञानतोऽपि वा । अशून्यशयनात्सर्वं व्रतान्नाशं नयेत्पुमान्

Transliteration

aṣṭamāsakṛtaṃ pāpamajñānājjñānato'pi vā | aśūnyaśayanātsarvaṃ vratānnāśaṃ nayetpumān

Translation

അജ്ഞാനത്താലോ അറിഞ്ഞുകൊണ്ടോ എട്ട് മാസങ്ങളിൽ ചെയ്ത പാപമൊക്കെയും ‘അശൂന്യശയന’ വ്രതം മൂലം നശിക്കുന്നു; ഈ വ്രതംകൊണ്ടുതന്നെ മനുഷ്യൻ അതിനെ നാശത്തിലാക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• aṣṭamāsa-kṛtam: done/committed for eight months
• aṣṭamāsa-kṛtam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭa-māsa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृ धातु, क्त-कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• ajñānāt: from ignorance / due to ignorance
• ajñānāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ajñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; हेतौ अपादानम् (ablative of cause)

• jñānataḥ: from knowledge / knowingly
• jñānataḥ: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; हेतौ अपादानम्

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/समुच्चयार्थक (also/even)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (or)

• aśūnya-śayanāt: from (the vow of) not sleeping alone / from a non-empty bed
• aśūnya-śayanāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-śūnya (प्रातिपदिक) + śayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; हेतौ अपादानम्

• sarvam: all (of it)
• sarvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• vratāt: from the vow/observance
• vratāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; हेतौ अपादानम्

• nāśam: destruction/cessation
• nāśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• nayet: should lead (to) / should bring about
• nayet: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nī (नी धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• pumān: a man/person
• pumān: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pumān (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within the Jalaśāyī-upākhyāna)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A votary performs the Aśūnyaśayana observance with a calm face; dark smoke-like forms labeled ‘pāpa’ dissolve into light near a lamp and sacred water pot.

Characters & Entities

• Aśūnyaśayana (Vrata)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic vows function as powerful purification: disciplined observance can cleanse even substantial accumulated wrongdoing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya context, where the vrata’s greatness is taught.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observing the Aśūnyaśayana-vrata is presented as the means for pāpa-nāśa (destruction of sin).