Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अभ्यसन्ब्रह्महत्याया मुच्यते नात्र संशयः । वृषलीगमनं चैव यश्च गुर्वङ्गनागमः

Transliteration

abhyasanbrahmahatyāyā mucyate nātra saṃśayaḥ | vṛṣalīgamanaṃ caiva yaśca gurvaṅganāgamaḥ

Translation

स तेनानुष्ठानेन ब्रह्महत्यापापाद् विमुच्यते, नात्र संशयः। वृषलीगमनदोषात् तथा गुरुपत्न्यागमनदोषाच्च प्रमुच्यते॥

Word by Word

• abhyasan: practising/reciting
• abhyasan: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-as (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'practising/reciting repeatedly'

• brahmahatyāyāḥ: of Brahmin-slaying (the sin)
• brahmahatyāyāḥ: Apadana (Source/from; in sense 'from the sin of'/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahma-hatyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (brahmaṇaḥ hatyā)

• mucyate: is freed (is released)
• mucyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive sense)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• atra: here/in this matter
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• vṛṣalī-gamanam: going to/consorting with a low-caste woman
• vṛṣalī-gamanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣalī (प्रातिपदिक) + gamana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (vṛṣalyāḥ gamanam)

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

• eva: indeed/also
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis/only)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• guru-aṅganā-āgamaḥ: approaching the guru’s wife (illicitly)
• guru-aṅganā-āgamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅganā (प्रातिपदिक) + āgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (guroḥ aṅganāyāḥ āgamaḥ = approach to the teacher's wife)

Speaker

Śiva (as narrator of tīrtha-māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A penitent pilgrim at the riverbank, hands folded, receiving instruction; the river glows as a symbol of purification; the sage’s gesture conveys certainty—‘no doubt’—about release from grave sins.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Revā (Narmadā)
• Dhautapāpa Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-sevā with faith is presented as a powerful means of purification even from grievous transgressions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dhautapāpa Tīrtha on the banks of the Revā (Narmadā) in the Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Undertaking the tīrtha-related observance/practice (implied snāna and associated rite) that grants release from major sins.