Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

श्रुत्वा तव मुखोद्गीतां कथां वै पापनाशिनीम् । अयुक्तमिदमस्माकं द्विज क्लेशो न शाम्यति

Transliteration

śrutvā tava mukhodgītāṃ kathāṃ vai pāpanāśinīm | ayuktamidamasmākaṃ dvija kleśo na śāmyati

Translation

โอ ทวิชะ ครั้นได้สดับคาถาอันศักดิ์สิทธิ์ผู้ทำลายบาปซึ่งขับขานจากโอษฐ์ของท่านแล้ว ไฉนความทุกข์ของเราจึงยังไม่สงบเล่า ดูไม่สมควรยิ่งนัก

Word by Word

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (prior action), अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः

• तव: of you/your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन, सर्वनाम

• मुख-उद्गीताम्: sung/uttered from (your) mouth
• मुख-उद्गीताम्: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुख (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्गीत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √गै/गी ‘to sing’ with उद्-)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (कथाम् इति)

• कथाम्: story
• कथाम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• पाप-नाशिनीम्: destroying sins
• पाप-नाशिनीम्: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (कथाम् इति)

• अयुक्तम्: improper/unreasonable
• अयुक्तम्: Pradhāna-viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अयुक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम् (इदम् इति)

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अस्माकम्: of us/our
• अस्माकम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन, सर्वनाम

• द्विज: O twice-born (brahmin)
• द्विज: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• क्लेशः: affliction
• क्लेशः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्लेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• शाम्यति: subsides/is pacified
• शाम्यति: Kriyā (Predicate verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Yudhiṣṭhira

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-sphere (contextual)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mārkaṇḍeya (dvija)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king and attendants sit in respectful distress before the aged sage; the sage’s mouth is the source of luminous ‘kathā’ that washes over listeners like a river of light, yet the king confesses his sorrow remains.

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Dvija (brāhmaṇa, addressed to Mārkaṇḍeya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy hearing is inherently purifying; if suffering persists, the seeker should inquire further and complete the prescribed dharmic means.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The discussion continues within the Maṇināgeśvara context in Revākhaṇḍa, though the verse focuses on kathā’s purifying power.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Kathā-śravaṇa (listening to sacred narrative) is highlighted as pāpa-nāśinī (sin-destroying).