Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

तस्य जन्मार्जितं पापं तत्क्षणादेव नश्यति । सप्तजन्मार्जितं पापं गायत्र्या नश्यते ध्रुवम्

Transliteration

tasya janmārjitaṃ pāpaṃ tatkṣaṇādeva naśyati | saptajanmārjitaṃ pāpaṃ gāyatryā naśyate dhruvam

Translation

ਉਸ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਦੇ ਇਸੇ ਜਨਮ ਵਿੱਚ ਇਕੱਠੇ ਹੋਏ ਪਾਪ ਉਸੇ ਛਿਨ ਨਾਸ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ। ਅਤੇ ਗਾਇਤ੍ਰੀ ਦੇ ਜਪ ਨਾਲ ਸੱਤ ਜਨਮਾਂ ਦੇ ਸੰਚਿਤ ਪਾਪ ਭੀ ਨਿਸ਼ਚਿਤ ਹੀ ਮਿਟ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ।

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him/of that
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• जन्मार्जितम्: acquired through birth (i.e., accumulated over births)
• जन्मार्जितम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्जित (कृदन्त; √अर्ज् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तत्क्षणात्: from that very moment
• तत्क्षणात्: Apadana (Ablative/source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphatic)

• नश्यति: perishes/is destroyed
• नश्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• सप्तजन्मार्जितम्: acquired over seven births
• सप्तजन्मार्जितम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्जित (कृदन्त; √अर्ज् + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; समासे पूर्वपदसंख्या-विशेषण

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• गायत्र्या: by (the) Gāyatrī (mantra)
• गायत्र्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गायत्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• नश्यते: is destroyed
• नश्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• ध्रुवम्: certainly
• ध्रुवम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन क्रियाविशेषणवत् (adverbial use of neuter accusative)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pāṇḍunandana (a Pāṇḍava)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at Revā’s bank after snāna, seated in padmāsana, counting japa on a mālā; a subtle aura suggests sins dissolving like ash in water-light.

Characters & Entities

• Gāyatrī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mantra-japa, especially Gāyatrī, is upheld as a potent purifier capable of burning karmic impurities beyond a single lifetime.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching continues the Bhīmeśvara-tīrtha context where such japa is prescribed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Recitation of Gāyatrī (and the one-syllabled mantra) as a means of pāpa-kṣaya.