Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 60

Devanagari script

अपि पापसमाचाराः सर्वधर्मबहिष्कृताः । तत्र स्नात्वा शिलां स्पृष्ट्वा तदैवायांति सद्गतिम्

Transliteration

api pāpasamācārāḥ sarvadharmabahiṣkṛtāḥ | tatra snātvā śilāṃ spṛṣṭvā tadaivāyāṃti sadgatim

Translation

പാപാചാരത്തിൽ ജീവിക്കുന്നവരും എല്ലാ ധർമ്മകർമ്മങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നും ബഹിഷ്കൃതരുമായവരും—even അവിടെ സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത് ആ പാവനശില സ്പർശിച്ചാൽ ഉടൻ തന്നെ സദ്ഗതി പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle) — ‘even/also’

• pāpa-samācārāḥ: those of sinful conduct
• pāpa-samācārāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + samācāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः — ‘पापः समाचारा येषाम्’ (habit of sin)

• sarva-dharma-bahiṣkṛtāḥ: excluded from all dharmas
• sarva-dharma-bahiṣkṛtāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + bahiṣkṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः — ‘सर्वधर्मेभ्यः बहिष्कृताः’

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: स्थानवाचक-अव्यय

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund)

• śilām: a stone (sacred slab)
• śilām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• spṛṣṭvā: having touched
• spṛṣṭvā: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: spṛś (स्पृश्) (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund) — ‘having touched’

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kriya-viseshana (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• eva: indeed, immediately
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• āyānti: come/attain
• āyānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-yā (या) (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन

• sad-gatim: good destination
• sad-gatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक) + gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः — ‘सद् एव गतिः’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice; speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sārasvata Mahātīrtha (with Śilā)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sinner-turned-pilgrim steps into sacred waters; hands touch a revered stone on the bank; a dark aura dissolves into light, indicating immediate ‘sadgati’.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A powerful tīrtha can purify even grave sinners when approached with the simple acts of bathing and reverent contact.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A local Nāgarakhaṇḍa tīrtha featuring a revered śilā (later associated with Citraśilā and the Sārasvata-hrada context).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) at the spot and śilā-sparśa (touching the sacred stone).