Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

लिप्यते न च पापेन कथंचित्तकृतेन च । नरो वा यदि वा नारी तत्तीर्थस्य प्रभावतः

Transliteration

lipyate na ca pāpena kathaṃcittakṛtena ca | naro vā yadi vā nārī tattīrthasya prabhāvataḥ

Translation

ആ തീർത്ഥത്തിന്റെ പ്രഭാവത്താൽ പുരുഷനോ സ്ത്രീയോ—എങ്ങനെയായാലും ചെയ്ത ദോഷത്താലും—പാപത്തിൽ ലിപ്തരാകുന്നില്ല।

Word by Word

• लिप्यते: is tainted, is smeared
• लिप्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लिप् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• पापेन: by sin
• पापेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• कथंचित्: somehow, in any way
• कथंचित्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथंचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक/अनिश्चितता (indefinite adverb)

• कृतेन: by a deed (done)
• कृतेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत (प्रातिपदिक; कृ-धातोः क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; ‘कृत’ (done act) इति भाववाचक

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात

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

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Disjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-निपात (disjunctive particle)

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्त-निपात (conditional particle)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Disjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-निपात

• नारी: a woman
• नारी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Sambandha (Determiner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषसमासे पूर्वपदत्वेन (as determiner)

• तीर्थस्य: of the sacred ford/place
• तीर्थस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• प्रभावतः: due to the power
• प्रभावतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (cause)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous tīrtha—riverbank or sacred tank—radiating a protective aura; men and women stand within the glow, their dark ‘stains’ symbolically dissolving into light.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It proclaims the exceptional ‘prabhāva’ of the sacred place: contact with the tīrtha overrides moral taint and grants purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘that tīrtha’ refers to the Rudraśīrṣa-tīrtha/kuṇḍa praised in this adhyāya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, visiting/approaching the tīrtha is valorized; the explicit snāna prescription appears earlier in the passage.