Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 189

Devanagari script

पापघ्नी चाष्टमी प्रोक्ता कृष्णस्यातीव वल्लभा । कृता कलौ युगे पुत्र द्वारका मोक्षदायिनी

Transliteration

pāpaghnī cāṣṭamī proktā kṛṣṇasyātīva vallabhā | kṛtā kalau yuge putra dvārakā mokṣadāyinī

Translation

அஷ்டமி ‘பாபக்னீ’ (பாவநாசினி) எனப் புகழப்படுகிறது; அது ஸ்ரீகிருஷ்ணனுக்கு மிகப் பிரியமானது. மகனே, கலியுகத்தில் த்வாரகா மோட்சம் அளிப்பவள்.

Word by Word

• pāpaghnī: sin-destroying
• pāpaghnī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa-ghnī (प्रातिपदिक; घ्निन्-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘पापं हन्ति’ इति (fem. nom. sg.)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• aṣṭamī: the eighth (tithi/day), Aṣṭamī
• aṣṭamī: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (fem. nom. sg.)

• proktā: is said/declared
• proktā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-√vac (वच्) (कृदन्त—क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (fem. nom. sg.)

• kṛṣṇasya: of Kṛṣṇa
• kṛṣṇasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (masc. gen. sg.)

• atīva: very, exceedingly
• atīva: Viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atīva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—अतिशयार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (intensifying adverb)

• vallabhā: beloved
• vallabhā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vallabhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (fem. nom. sg.)

• kṛtā: made/established
• kṛtā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √kṛ (कृ) (कृदन्त—क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (fem. nom. sg.)

• kalau: in Kali (age)
• kalau: Adhikaraṇa (Location/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (masc. loc. sg.)

• yuge: in the yuga/age
• yuge: Adhikaraṇa (Location/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (neut. loc. sg.)

• putra: O son
• putra: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन (voc. sg.)

• dvārakā: Dvārakā
• dvārakā: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvārakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (fem. nom. sg.)

• mokṣadāyinī: granting liberation
• mokṣadāyinī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mokṣa-dāyinī (प्रातिपदिक; दायिन्-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘मोक्षं ददाति’ (fem. nom. sg.)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (instructional voice within Dvārakā Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ‘Putra’ addressed within the verse (disciple/son figure)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night of Aṣṭamī in Dvārakā: devotees with lamps and tulasī garlands approach Kṛṣṇa’s temple; a banner reads ‘Pāpaghnī Aṣṭamī’; the sea glimmers, suggesting purification and liberation.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Dvārakā
• Kali Yuga
• Pāpaghnī Aṣṭamī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion to Kṛṣṇa through sacred-time observance and refuge in Dvārakā is praised as a direct path to purification and mokṣa in Kali Yuga.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā is explicitly praised as mokṣa-dāyinī (a giver of liberation).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observance of the sin-destroying Aṣṭamī (Pāpaghnī) as a Kṛṣṇa-beloved vrata.