Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

स विष्णु वल्लभो दीपः सर्वदा पापहारकः । चातुर्मास्ये विशेषेण कामनासिद्धिकारकः

Transliteration

sa viṣṇu vallabho dīpaḥ sarvadā pāpahārakaḥ | cāturmāsye viśeṣeṇa kāmanāsiddhikārakaḥ

Translation

ประทีปอันเป็นที่รักของพระวิษณุนั้น ย่อมชำระบาปได้เสมอ; และในจาตุรมาสยะโดยเฉพาะ ย่อมเป็นเหตุให้ความปรารถนาอันดีงามสำเร็จ

Word by Word

• सः: he/that (lamp)
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• विष्णु-वल्लभः: dear to Viṣṇu
• विष्णु-वल्लभः: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक) + वल्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (विष्णोः वल्लभः = dear to Viṣṇu)

• दीपः: lamp
• दीपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• सर्वदा: always
• सर्वदा: Kriyavisheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्ययम् (temporal adverb)

• पापहारकः: remover of sins
• पापहारकः: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + हारक (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √हृ (धातु) + ण्वुल्/अक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पापस्य हारकः = remover of sin)

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya (four-month period)
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्

• विशेषेण: especially
• विशेषेण: Kriyavisheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental), एकवचनम्; अव्ययीभावार्थे प्रयोगः (used adverbially: 'especially')

• कामना-सिद्धि-कारकः: causing the fulfillment of desires
• कामना-सिद्धि-कारकः: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कामना (प्रातिपदिक) + सिद्धि (प्रातिपदिक) + कारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-समासः (कामनायाः सिद्धेः कारकः = cause of fulfillment of desires)

Speaker

Brahmā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viṣṇu-dīpa (rite-centered)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nārada

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee lights a lamp before Viṣṇu; dark smoke-like forms of sin dissolve into the lamp’s radiance; during monsoon months, the temple glows with rows of lamps symbolizing intensified fruit.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional offerings like lighting a lamp are not symbolic alone; they are presented as concrete dharmic acts that cleanse wrongdoing and support life-goals when aligned with sacred time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse praises the act of offering a lamp to Viṣṇu (typically in a temple setting) rather than naming a particular tirtha in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Offer a lamp (dīpa) to Viṣṇu, with heightened emphasis and expected fruit during the Cāturmāsya period.