Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

धर्मपुष्करिणी चेयं पुण्या पापविनाशिनी । अस्यास्तीरे तपः कुर्वंस्तपःसिद्धिमवाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

dharmapuṣkariṇī ceyaṃ puṇyā pāpavināśinī | asyāstīre tapaḥ kurvaṃstapaḥsiddhimavāpnuyāt

Translation

ఇది ధర్మపుష్కరిణి—పుణ్యమయమైనది, పాపనాశిని; దీని తీరం వద్ద తపస్సు చేయువాడు తపస్సు సిద్ధిని పొందును।

Word by Word

• dharma-puṣkariṇī: Dharma-Puṣkariṇī (sacred lake)
• dharma-puṣkariṇī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + puṣkariṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ('धर्मस्य पुष्करिणी' = dharma-lake)

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

• iyam: this
• iyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• puṇyā: holy
• puṇyā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (iyam/puṣkariṇī)

• pāpa-vināśinī: destroyer of sins
• pāpa-vināśinī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + vināśinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः ('पापस्य विनाशिनी' = destroyer of sin)

• asyāḥ: of this (lake)
• asyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (of this/her)

• tīre: on the bank
• tīre: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (what is performed)

• kurvan: performing
• kurvan: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्तरि शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'doing/performing'

• tapaḥ-siddhim: success in austerity
• tapaḥ-siddhim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक) + siddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ('तपसः सिद्धिः' = success of austerity)

• avāpnuyāt: may attain
• avāpnuyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava√āp (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; 'should/may attain'

Speaker

Hari (Viṣṇu)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmapuṣkariṇī

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lotus-filled sacred tank named Dharmapuṣkariṇī glows; ascetics perform tapas on its bank—japa with rosaries, fire offerings, meditation under trees—while the water is depicted as purifying radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Dharmapuṣkariṇī
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places amplify spiritual effort—tapas performed at a praised tīrtha ripens swiftly into siddhi.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmapuṣkariṇī, a sacred pond/tank in the Setukhaṇḍa landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform tapas (austerities) on the tīrtha’s bank; the verse also implies the tīrtha’s purifying power.