Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

अभिषेकेण कुण्डानां सप्तकृत्वो वरानने । महांति चैव पापानि क्षाल्यंते पुरुषैः सदा

Transliteration

abhiṣekeṇa kuṇḍānāṃ saptakṛtvo varānane | mahāṃti caiva pāpāni kṣālyaṃte puruṣaiḥ sadā

Translation

ഹേ വരാനനേ! കുണ്ഡങ്ങളിൽ ഏഴുതവണ അഭിഷേകസ്നാനം ചെയ്താൽ മനുഷ്യരുടെ മഹാപാപങ്ങളും സദാ കഴുകി നീങ്ങും.

Word by Word

• abhiṣekeṇa: by (ritual) bathing/anointing
• abhiṣekeṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhiṣeka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (instrumental singular)

• kuṇḍānām: of the pools/ponds
• kuṇḍānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन (genitive plural)

• saptakṛtvaḥ: seven times
• saptakṛtvaḥ: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saptakṛtvas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; संख्यावाचक-आवृत्तिवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of frequency)

• varānane: O fair-faced lady
• varānane: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara-ānana (प्रातिपदिक: वर + आनन)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति, एकवचन (vocative singular); कर्मधारयः ‘वरम् आननं यस्याः’

• mahānti: great
• mahānti: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन (nominative plural neuter)

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• pāpāni: sins
• pāpāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन (nominative plural neuter)

• kṣālyante: are washed away
• kṣālyante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṣāl (धातु: क्षाल् ‘to wash’)
• Form: लट् लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• puruṣaiḥ: by men/people
• puruṣaiḥ: Kartr (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन (instrumental plural); कर्मणि प्रयोगे कर्तृ-करणभावः (agent in passive)

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of time)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kuṇḍāḥ (sacred pools of Prabhāsa)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as varānane)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims at a stone-lined kuṇḍa in Prabhāsa perform seven immersions; priests hold water-pots and darbha; Somnātha’s coastal aura is felt in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Kuṇḍa (sacred pool)
• Abhiṣeka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is presented as spiritually potent: repeated, reverent contact with tīrtha waters brings deep purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The kuṇḍas (sacred pools) within Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Abhiṣeka/snāna in the kuṇḍas seven times (saptakṛtvaḥ).