Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

स्नानेन ऋषयो देवास्तुष्टिं यांति महोरगाः । नाशः संजायते सद्यः पापस्य पृथिवीपते

Transliteration

snānena ṛṣayo devāstuṣṭiṃ yāṃti mahoragāḥ | nāśaḥ saṃjāyate sadyaḥ pāpasya pṛthivīpate

Translation

അവിടെ സ്നാനം ചെയ്താൽ ഋഷിമാർ, ദേവന്മാർ, മഹോരഗങ്ങൾ സന്തുഷ്ടരാകുന്നു; ഹേ ഭൂമിപതേ, പാപനാശം ഉടൻ തന്നെ സംഭവിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• snānena: by bathing
• snānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• ṛṣayaḥ: sages
• ṛṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• devāḥ: gods
• devāḥ: Karta (Co-subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tuṣṭim: pleasure; satisfaction
• tuṣṭim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tuṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• yānti: attain
• yānti: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• mahā-uragāḥ: great serpents
• mahā-uragāḥ: Karta (Co-subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + uraga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास: ‘महान्’ + ‘उरग’ (serpent); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• nāśaḥ: destruction
• nāśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• saṃjāyate: arises; occurs
• saṃjāyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-jan (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• sadyaḥ: immediately
• sadyaḥ: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) — immediately

• pāpasya: of sin
• pāpasya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• pṛthivīpate: O lord of the earth (king)
• pṛthivīpate: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛthivī + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘पृथिवी’ + ‘पति’; पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Pulastya (implied)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kanakhala-tīrtha (as chapter context)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (nṛpa/pṛthivīpati)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims bathing at a sanctified ford; subtle presence of Ṛṣis in meditation, Devas in the sky, and Nāgas in the waters, all showing satisfaction as a dark aura of sin dissolves.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis
• Devas
• Nāgas (great serpents)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-snānā is portrayed as a swift purifier: it pleases higher beings and removes sin without delay.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kanakhala-tīrtha, where bathing is said to yield immediate pāpa-nāśa (sin-destruction).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) at the tīrtha for purification and spiritual merit.