Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

पापघ्नं सर्वजंतूनां पशुपाशविमोक्षदम् । पुरा पाशुपता देवि कपालेश्वरसंनिधौ

Transliteration

pāpaghnaṃ sarvajaṃtūnāṃ paśupāśavimokṣadam | purā pāśupatā devi kapāleśvarasaṃnidhau

Translation

ഇത് എല്ലാ ജീവികളുടെയും പാപം നശിപ്പിക്കുകയും പശു-പാശം (സാംസാരികബന്ധനം) മുതൽ വിമോചനം നൽകുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നു. ഹേ ദേവി, പുരാകാലത്ത് കപാലേശ്വരസന്നിധിയിൽ പാശുപതർ—

Word by Word

• pāpaghnam: sin-destroying
• pāpaghnam: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa-ghna (प्रातिपदिक; पाप + घ्न)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (पापं हन्ति इति)

• sarvajantūnām: of all beings
• sarvajantūnām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva-jantu (प्रातिपदिक; सर्व + जन्तु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः

• paśupāśavimokṣadam: granting release from the bonds of creatures
• paśupāśavimokṣadam: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paśu-pāśa-vimokṣa-da (प्रातिपदिक; पशु + पाश + विमोक्ष + द)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः (पशुपाशस्य विमोक्षं ददाति)

• purā: formerly
• purā: Desha-Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (temporal adverb/पूर्वकाले)

• pāśupatāḥ: Pāśupatas (Śaiva ascetics)
• pāśupatāḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāśupata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• kapāleśvarasaṃnidhau: in the presence of Kapāleśvara
• kapāleśvarasaṃnidhau: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapāla-īśvara-saṃnidhi (प्रातिपदिक; कपाल + ईश्वर + संनिधि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapāleśvara-sannidhi (within Prabhāsa-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (explicit: ‘devi’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Prabhāsa, near Kapāleśvara, the narrator extols a spot that destroys sins and cuts the fetters of the paśu; the shrine glows with ascetic presence and sacred awe.

Characters & Entities

• Pāśupatas
• Kapāleśvara
• Paśu-pāśa (bondage doctrine)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Association with Śiva’s sacred sites is portrayed as transformative—destroying sin and loosening the soul’s bondage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapāleśvara’s vicinity within Prabhāsa Kṣetra, as the setting for Pāśupata practice.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse introduces Pāśupata observance near the shrine; the specific practices continue in the following verses.