Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

एकजन्मकृतं पापं निजकायेन निर्मितम् । कपालेश्वरदेवस्य सहस्रगुणितं हरेत्

Transliteration

ekajanmakṛtaṃ pāpaṃ nijakāyena nirmitam | kapāleśvaradevasya sahasraguṇitaṃ haret

Translation

ഒരു ജന്മത്തിൽ ചെയ്ത, സ്വന്തം ശരീരത്തിൽ നിന്നു ജനിച്ച പാപം—കപാലേശ്വര ദേവൻ അതിനെ സഹസ്രഗുണമായി നീക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• एकजन्मकृतम्: done in one lifetime
• एकजन्मकृतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka-janma-kṛta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (singular); भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle) कृत (√kṛ) ; तत्पुरुष-समासः (एकजन्मनि कृतम्)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• निजकायेन: by one’s own body
• निजकायेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nija-kāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन (singular); कर्मधारय-समासः (निजः कायः)

• निर्मितम्: produced/created
• निर्मितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-√mā (धातु) → nirmita (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (singular); भूतकृदन्त (PPP) निर्मित (made/produced)

• कपालेश्वरदेवस्य: of Lord Kapāleśvara
• कपालेश्वरदेवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapāla-īśvara-deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन (singular); तत्पुरुष-समासः (कपालेश्वरः देवः)

• सहस्रगुणितम्: multiplied a thousandfold
• सहस्रगुणितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahasra-guṇita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (singular); भूतकृदन्त (PPP) गुणित (multiplied) from √guṇ/√gaṇ (to multiply/count); तत्पुरुष-समासः (सहस्रेण गुणितम्)

• हरेत्: should remove
• हरेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √hṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic teacher addressing a King)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapāleśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kapāleśvara Śiva-linga radiates intense light; a devotee offers expiatory gifts, while dark smoke-like ‘sins’ dissolve into the radiance, suggesting thousandfold cleansing.

Characters & Entities

• Kapāleśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śaiva sacred power magnifies purification: devotion and rite connected to Kapāleśvara grant extraordinary sin-removal.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapāleśvara Deva (Kapāleśvara tīrtha/temple context implied) is explicitly praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It states the fruit (phala): connection with Kapāleśvara yields thousandfold removal of sins of one lifetime.