Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

उपवासी नरो भूत्वा यस्तु कुर्यात्प्रजागरम् । मुच्यते सर्वपापेभ्यो गायंस्तस्य शुभां कथाम्

Transliteration

upavāsī naro bhūtvā yastu kuryātprajāgaram | mucyate sarvapāpebhyo gāyaṃstasya śubhāṃ kathām

Translation

และผู้ใดถืออุโบสถแล้วทำการตื่นเฝ้าตลอดราตรี พร้อมขับขานเรื่องราวศักดิ์สิทธิ์อันเป็นมงคลของพระองค์ ผู้นั้นย่อมพ้นจากบาปทั้งปวง

Word by Word

• उपवासी: fasting
• उपवासी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपवासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — adjective used substantively

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund) — having become

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Relative pronoun

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — emphatic/contrast particle

• कुर्यात्: should perform
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — should do/perform

• प्रजागरम्: a vigil (night-wake)
• प्रजागरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्र + जागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular

• मुच्यते: is freed
• मुच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive) — is released

• सर्वपापेभ्यः: from all sins
• सर्वपापेभ्यः: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + पाप (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), बहुवचन — Ablative plural; ‘all sins’

• गायन्: singing
• गायन्: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गै (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — present participle active

• तस्य: of him/of that (deity)
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• शुभाम्: auspicious
• शुभाम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular (qualifying कथाम्)

• कथाम्: story
• कथाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bala–Keśava-tīrtha on Revā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night at the riverbank shrine: lamps flicker, devotees seated in a circle singing Hari-kathā, some standing in vigil with folded hands; the river glimmers under moonlight; the deity shrine of Bala–Keśava illuminated.

Characters & Entities

• Prajāgara (vigil)
• Upavāsa (fast)
• Kathā (sacred narration)
• Bala-Keśava (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional discipline—fasting, vigil, and sacred singing—purifies the devotee and is portrayed as a powerful means of pāpa-kṣaya (removal of sin).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The practice is taught in the flow of the Yojaneśvara tīrtha-māhātmya, implying these vows are especially meritorious when observed there.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upavāsa (fasting), prajāgara (night vigil), and gāna/kīrtana of the Lord’s auspicious kathā.