Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

यतः पापानि भक्तानां भक्षयिष्यति तत्क्षणात् । पापभक्षण इत्येव तव नाम भविष्यति

Transliteration

yataḥ pāpāni bhaktānāṃ bhakṣayiṣyati tatkṣaṇāt | pāpabhakṣaṇa ityeva tava nāma bhaviṣyati

Translation

నీవు భక్తుల పాపాలను ఆ క్షణమే భక్షించెదవు కావున, నీ పేరు 'పాపభక్షణ' అని ప్రసిద్ధి చెందుతుంది.

Word by Word

• yataḥ: because; from which
• yataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/हेतु-अर्थे), ‘यतः’ = ‘because/from which’

• pāpāni: sins
• pāpāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन

• bhaktānām: of the devotees
• bhaktānām: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakta (प्रातिपदिक; √bhaj (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन

• bhakṣayiṣyati: will devour/consume
• bhakṣayiṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhakṣ (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• tatkṣaṇāt: from that very moment; immediately
• tatkṣaṇāt: Apādāna (Source/Point of separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat-kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (तत् + क्षण)

• pāpabhakṣaṇaḥ: (one who is) devourer of sins
• pāpabhakṣaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa-bhakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (पापस्य भक्षणः)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उद्धरण/इति-प्रयोग (quotative particle)

• eva: indeed; just
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• nāma: name
• nāma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• bhaviṣyati: will be; will become
• bhaviṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative context around Kālabhairava’s investiture)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kālarāja / Yama (King of Time/Death) and attendant deities

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fierce yet benevolent guardian-deity in Kāśī radiates protective light as dark, smoke-like ‘sins’ dissolve instantly around kneeling devotees; the city’s ghats and a lingam silhouette appear behind.

Characters & Entities

• Kālabhairava
• Bhakta (devotees)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kāśī, sincere devotion is portrayed as immediately purifying, with Bhairava as the divine agent who consumes sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), where Kālabhairava is celebrated as a special guardian and purifier.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the emphasis is on bhakti (devotion) and its instant purificatory fruit.