Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

यम उवाच । मुच्यतामाशु तेनायं नानेयाश्चापरे जनाः । ये मृता मम तीर्थे वै सर्वपातकनाशने

Transliteration

yama uvāca | mucyatāmāśu tenāyaṃ nāneyāścāpare janāḥ | ye mṛtā mama tīrthe vai sarvapātakanāśane

Translation

യമൻ പറഞ്ഞു—‘ആ (തീർത്ഥത്തിന്റെ ശക്തിയാൽ) ഇവനെ ഉടൻ മോചിപ്പിക്കൂ; എന്റെ സർവ്വപാതകനാശക തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ മരിച്ച മറ്റാരെയും ശിക്ഷയ്ക്കായി ഇനി കൊണ്ടുവരരുത്.’

Word by Word

• yamaḥ: Yama
• yamaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mucyatām: let (him) be released
• mucyatām: Kriya (Command/आज्ञा)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √muc (मुच् धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive): ‘विमुच्यताम्’

• āśu: quickly
• āśu: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: āśu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb)

• tena: by him/thereby
• tena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• ayam: this man
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

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

• aneyāḥ: to be brought (here)
• aneyāḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-√nī (नी धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: अनीयर्/तव्यत्-प्रत्ययार्थक (gerundive: ‘आनेय’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘आनीयन्ते’ इत्यर्थे

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/conjunction)

• apare: other
• apare: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• janāḥ: people
• janāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Relative subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative)

• mṛtāḥ: have died
• mṛtāḥ: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √mṛ (मृ धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• tīrthe: at the sacred ford/place
• tīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

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

• sarvapātakanāśane: in (the place) that destroys all sins
• sarvapātakanāśane: Adhikarana (Qualifier of location/अधिकरण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva + pātaka + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: ‘सर्वेषां पातकानां नाशनम्’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘तीर्थे’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

Speaker

Yama (Dharmarāja/Vaivasvata)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Yama-tīrtha on Arbudācala (sarva-pātaka-nāśana)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yamadūtas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dharmarāja issues a compassionate decree: the sinner is unbound; yamadūtas halt, lowering their weapons; a radiant tīrtha aura is symbolically shown, as if the mountain’s sanctity reaches the court of Yama.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A supremely sanctified tīrtha can nullify even heavy sins; divine justice (Yama) itself honors the higher purifying law of sacred places.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Yama’s own tīrtha on Arbudācala, explicitly praised as sarvapātakanāśana (destroyer of all sins).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit prescription: association with the tīrtha (and even dying there) grants purification; no detailed rite is stated in this verse.