Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

स्नात्वा तद्वैष्णवं स्थानं नृणां पातकनाशनम्

Transliteration

snātvā tadvaiṣṇavaṃ sthānaṃ nṛṇāṃ pātakanāśanam

Translation

ആ വൈഷ്ണവ പുണ്യസ്ഥാനത്തിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്താൽ മനുഷ്യരുടെ പാപങ്ങൾ നശിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya (Gerund—prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive); पूर्वक्रिया—‘स्नात्वा’ (having bathed)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Deictic qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म/Accusative), एकवचन; संकेतक विशेषणम् (स्थानम्)

• वैष्णवम्: Vaiṣṇava, pertaining to Viṣṇu
• वैष्णवम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैष्णव (प्रातिपदिक; विष्णु + अण् तद्धित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (स्थानम्)

• स्थानम्: place, shrine
• स्थानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म/Accusative), एकवचन

• नृणाम्: of men
• नृणाम्: Sambandha (Of whom/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध/Genitive), बहुवचन

• पातकनाशनम्: destroyer of sins
• पातकनाशनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पातक + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (पातकस्य नाशनम्); विशेषणम् (स्थानम्)

Speaker

Unknown (contextually within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vaiṣṇava-sthāna (associated bathing spot at Satyabhāmeśvara)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims bathe at a sacred water spot designated ‘Vaiṣṇava-sthāna’ near the Satyabhāmeśvara shrine; water glints at dawn, with priests guiding sankalpa and devotees emerging purified.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu (implied by vaiṣṇava)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-snān (ritual bathing at a sacred place) is presented as a direct means of pāpa-nāśa (sin-destruction).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Vaiṣṇava sacred spot within Prabhāsa Kṣetra associated with the Satyabhāmeśvara context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) at the specified Vaiṣṇava sthāna.