Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

येन कुष्ठविनिर्मुक्तस्तत्क्षणादेव जायते । तथा ब्रह्मवधोद्भूतैः पातकैरुपपातकैः

Transliteration

yena kuṣṭhavinirmuktastatkṣaṇādeva jāyate | tathā brahmavadhodbhūtaiḥ pātakairupapātakaiḥ

Translation

ആ (നിമജ്ജന)ത്താൽ മനുഷ്യൻ അതേ ക്ഷണത്തിൽ കുഷ്ഠരോഗത്തിൽ നിന്ന് വിമുക്തനാകുന്നു; അതുപോലെ ബ്രഹ്മഹത്യയിൽ നിന്നുയർന്ന പാപങ്ങളും ഉപപാപങ്ങളും നീങ്ങുന്നു.

Word by Word

• yena: by which
• yena: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण (by which)

• kuṣṭha-vinirmuktaḥ: freed from leprosy
• kuṣṭha-vinirmuktaḥ: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kuṣṭha + vi-nir-mukta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (कुष्ठात् विनिर्मुक्तः); भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• tat-kṣaṇāt: at that very moment
• tat-kṣaṇāt: Apādāna (Point of time/source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad + kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पञ्चमी (5th) एकवचन-रूपेण अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोग (immediately)

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphatic particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis/only)

• jāyate: arises/comes to be
• jāyate: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; भावे/कर्मणि (is born/comes to be)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/समुच्चयार्थ (likewise/also)

• brahma-vadha-udbhūtaiḥ: with (sins) arising from brahmin-slaying
• brahma-vadha-udbhūtaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/association)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahman + vadha + udbhūta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (ब्रह्मवधात् उद्भूतैः); भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) ‘arisen’; पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषण (pātakaiḥ, upapātakaiḥ)

• pātakaiḥ: with sins
• pātakaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/association)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• upapātakaiḥ: with secondary sins
• upapātakaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/association)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upapātaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

Speaker

Viṣṇu (continuing instruction; speaker implied from prior verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāhnavī-jala-kunda

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A diseased figure (the prince) is shown before immersion with marks of kuṣṭha; after contact with the Jāhnavī water, the skin becomes radiant and clear, while dark ‘sin’ imagery dissipates like smoke.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Brahmahatyā
• Pātaka/Upapātaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A true tīrtha, empowered by divine presence, purifies even the heaviest karmic burdens when approached with faith and right action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The supuṇya Jāhnavī waters at the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra tīrtha are praised as instantly purifying.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Immersion/bathing (snānā) as a means of curing disease and removing pātakas and upapātakas.