Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

इति संक्षेपतः प्रोक्तं माहात्म्यं चक्रपाणिनः । दण्डपाणिगणस्यापि श्रुतं पापौघनाशनम्

Transliteration

iti saṃkṣepataḥ proktaṃ māhātmyaṃ cakrapāṇinaḥ | daṇḍapāṇigaṇasyāpi śrutaṃ pāpaughanāśanam

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ സംക്ഷേപമായി ചക്രപാണിയുടെ മഹാത്മ്യം പ്രസ്താവിച്ചു; പാപപ്രവാഹം നശിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ദണ്ഡപാണി ഗണങ്ങളുടെ കഥയും കേൾക്കപ്പെട്ടു.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (quotative/particle)

• saṃkṣepataḥ: briefly
• saṃkṣepataḥ: Kriya-Viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saṃkṣepa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• proktam: told, declared
• proktam: Kriya (Predicative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-vac (धातु) → prokta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘māhātmyam’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• māhātmyam: the greatness, the glory
• māhātmyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• cakrapāṇinaḥ: of Cakrapāṇi (Viṣṇu)
• cakrapāṇinaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakrapāṇin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• daṇḍapāṇigaṇasya: of the group of Daṇḍapāṇis
• daṇḍapāṇigaṇasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṇḍapāṇi (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (दण्डपाणिनां गणः)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Additive particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: also/even)

• śrutam: heard, recounted
• śrutam: Kriya (Predicative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śru (धातु) → śruta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; (elliptic) ‘(māhātmyam) śrutam’

• pāpaughanāśanam: the destroyer of floods of sin
• pāpaughanāśanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + ogha (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पापौघस्य नाशनम्)

Speaker

Narrative voice within the dialogue (contextually continuing from Viṣṇu’s instruction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsakṣetra (Cakrapāṇi and Daṇḍapāṇi-gaṇa kathā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience of the māhātmya (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage concludes narration before attentive pilgrims; behind them, symbolic icons of Cakrapāṇi and a stern protective Daṇḍapāṇi-gaṇa appear as guardian figures; the air feels cleansed as if sin is washed away by sound.

Characters & Entities

• Cakrapāṇi
• Daṇḍapāṇi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hearing and remembering tīrtha-māhātmyas is itself purifying; sacred narration is a dharmic practice with transformative merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, through the summarized glory of its deities and their sin-destroying praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A śravaṇa-phala is implied: hearing the māhātmya (recitation/listening) is proclaimed as sin-destroying.