Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

व्यास उवाच । एतत्तीर्थस्य माहात्म्यं मया प्रोक्तं तवाग्रतः । अनेकपूर्वजन्मोत्थपातकघ्नं महीपते

Transliteration

vyāsa uvāca | etattīrthasya māhātmyaṃ mayā proktaṃ tavāgrataḥ | anekapūrvajanmotthapātakaghnaṃ mahīpate

Translation

วยาสกล่าวว่า “โอ้เจ้าแห่งแผ่นดิน เราได้ประกาศมหาตมยะของตีรถะนี้ต่อหน้าเจ้าแล้ว ซึ่งทำลายบาปที่เกิดจากชาติปางก่อนนับมาก”

Word by Word

• व्यासः: Vyāsa
• व्यासः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-सम्बन्धे (एतस्य) अर्थे; समासपूर्वपदत्वेन (एतत्-तीर्थस्य)

• तीर्थस्य: of the sacred ford
• तीर्थस्य: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• माहात्म्यम्: greatness; glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Agent-instrumental/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रोक्तम्: told; declared
• प्रोक्तम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु) + प्रोक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-सामानाधिकरणे, एकवचन; कर्मणि (has been told)

• तव: to you/your
• तव: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अग्रतः: in (your) presence
• अग्रतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अग्रतः (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: in front/presence)

• अनेकपूर्वजन्मोत्थपातकघ्नम्: destroyer of sins arising from many former births
• अनेकपूर्वजन्मोत्थपातकघ्नम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनेक (प्रातिपदिक) + पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + जन्म (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्थ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + पातक (प्रातिपदिक) + घ्न (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमास; (अनेक-पूर्व-जन्म-उत्थ) इति विशेषणेन (पातक) तथा (पातक-घ्न) ‘पापहारी’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (माहात्म्यम्)

• महीपते: O king
• महीपते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (महीयाः पति), पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Vyāsa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (māhīpati)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa, serene and authoritative, addresses a king (Yudhiṣṭhira) in a forest-hermitage setting, gesturing toward the sacred tīrtha as he declares its sin-destroying greatness.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Mahīpati (king)
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A true tīrtha purifies deeply—its merit can destroy karmic burdens accumulated across many lifetimes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha within Dharmāraṇya (the subject of the preceding narration) is explicitly praised for its sin-destroying power.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific act is stated here; it introduces the tīrtha’s purificatory potency.