Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 189

Devanagari script

दशभिर्दिनजं पापं विंशत्या वत्सरोद्भवम् । षडक्षरस्य जाप्येन पापं क्षालयते नरः

Transliteration

daśabhirdinajaṃ pāpaṃ viṃśatyā vatsarodbhavam | ṣaḍakṣarasya jāpyena pāpaṃ kṣālayate naraḥ

Translation

പത്ത് ജപം കൊണ്ട് ഒരു ദിവസത്തെ പാപം, ഇരുപത് ജപം കൊണ്ട് ഒരു വർഷത്തെ പാപം; ഷഡക്ഷര ജപം കൊണ്ട് മനുഷ്യൻ പാപം കഴുകിമാറ്റുന്നു।

Word by Word

• दशभिः: by ten
• दशभिः: Karana (Measure/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशन् (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Instrumental plural (by ten)

• दिनजम्: arising from (a number of) days
• दिनजम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिन + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘born of days’; qualifies ‘पापम्’

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• विंशत्या: by twenty
• विंशत्या: Karana (Measure/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विंशति (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Instrumental singular (by twenty)

• वत्सरोद्भवम्: arising from a year
• वत्सरोद्भवम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वत्सर + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘arising from a year’; qualifies ‘पापम्’

• षडक्षरस्य: of the six-syllabled (mantra)
• षडक्षरस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षड् + अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Genitive singular; ‘of the six-syllabled (mantra)’

• जाप्येन: by (its) recitation
• जाप्येन: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाप्य (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √जप्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Instrumental singular; ‘by recitation’

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• क्षालयते: washes away; cleanses
• क्षालयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षल् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; Present indicative, 3rd sg; causative sense ‘washes away’ in usage

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

Speaker

Suvrata

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee performing japa with a visible count motif: beads, tally marks, or a small palm-leaf note; the river beside him; dark stains (symbolic sins) fading as counts increase.

Characters & Entities

• ṣaḍakṣara-mantra (Śaiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular, even small-count japa is presented as a practical method for steady purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is delivered within a tīrtha-mahātmya narrative; the focus here is the mantra’s purificatory efficacy.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do ṣaḍakṣara-mantra japa with specified counts (ten, twenty) as a discipline for washing away sins.