Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

गोघ्नो वा ब्रह्महा पापी मुच्यते दुष्कृतैर्नरः । यः संप्रीणयते विप्रांस्तत्र भोज्यैः पृथग्विधैः

Transliteration

goghno vā brahmahā pāpī mucyate duṣkṛtairnaraḥ | yaḥ saṃprīṇayate viprāṃstatra bhojyaiḥ pṛthagvidhaiḥ

Translation

ഗോഹത്യകനായാലും ബ്രാഹ്മണഹന്തകനായ പാപിയായാലും, അവിടെ വിവിധവിധ ഭോജ്യങ്ങളാൽ വിപ്രന്മാരെ സന്തോഷിപ്പിക്കുന്നവൻ ദുഷ്കൃത്യങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് മോചിതനാകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• goghnaḥ: cow-killer
• goghnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go + ghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (go ‘cow’ + ghna ‘killer’) — nominative singular

• vā: or, even
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक निपात — ‘or/even’

• brahmahā: brahmin-slayer
• brahmahā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman + han (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (brahman + hā ‘slayer’) — nominative singular

• pāpī: sinful
• pāpī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — nominative singular

• mucyate: is freed
• mucyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √muc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग — present passive, 3rd sg

• duṣkṛtaiḥ: from misdeeds
• duṣkṛtaiḥ: Apādāna (Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duṣkṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — instrumental plural (sense: ‘from evil deeds’)

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — nominative singular

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — relative pronoun, nominative singular

• saṃprīṇayate: pleases, satisfies
• saṃprīṇayate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √prī (धातु) + sam (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद — present, 3rd sg

• viprān: brahmins
• viprān: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन — accusative plural

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक — ‘there/in that place’

• bhojyaiḥ: with foods fit to be eaten
• bhojyaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhojya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• pṛthak: variously
• pṛthak: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pṛthak (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण — ‘separately/variously’

• vidhaiḥ: by kinds, types
• vidhaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — instrumental plural; ‘pṛthag-vidhaiḥ’ = various kinds

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced from Prabhāsa Māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Somnātha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Prabhāsa, pilgrims arrange a brāhmaṇa-bhojana: leaf-plates laid in rows, vessels of rice, ghee, sweets, and fruits; a penitent donor bows with folded hands before Somnātha’s liṅga in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas (Vipras)
• Go-hatyā (cow-killing) (as a sin-category)
• Brahmahatyā (brahmin-slaying) (as a sin-category)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

At sacred places, sincere atonement through dharmic giving—especially honoring brāhmaṇas—can cleanse even severe moral transgressions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra’s tīrtha/kṣetra connected with the Ikṣvākvīśvara/Vṛṣabheśa Liṅga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Vipra-tarpaṇa/saṃprīṇana by bhojana-dāna: satisfying brāhmaṇas with various foods as an act of expiation and merit.