Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

तत्र कुण्डं महादेवि ह्यष्टपुष्करसंज्ञितम् । सर्व पापहरं देवि दुष्प्राप्यमकृतात्मभिः

Transliteration

tatra kuṇḍaṃ mahādevi hyaṣṭapuṣkarasaṃjñitam | sarva pāpaharaṃ devi duṣprāpyamakṛtātmabhiḥ

Translation

ณ ที่นั้น โอ้มหาเทวี มีสระศักดิ์สิทธิ์ชื่อว่า “อัษฏปุษกร” โอ้เทวี สระนี้ชำระบาปทั้งปวง แต่ผู้ไร้สำรวมและไร้วินัยย่อมเข้าถึงได้ยาก

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb: there)

• kuṇḍam: a sacred pond
• kuṇḍam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन; विषय (there is a pond)

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/indeed)

• aṣṭapuṣkarasaṃjñitam: called ‘Aṣṭapuṣkara’
• aṣṭapuṣkarasaṃjñitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭa-puṣkara-saṃjñita (प्रातिपदिक; अष्ट + पुष्कर + संज्ञित)
• Form: क्त (PPP from √jñā with sam-: संज्ञित ‘named’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण (to kuṇḍam)

• sarva: all
• sarva: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया/प्रथमा; एकवचन; विशेषण (to pāpa)

• pāpaharam: sin-destroying
• pāpaharam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa-hara (प्रातिपदिक; पाप + हर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण (sin-removing)

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचन

• duṣprāpyam: difficult to attain
• duṣprāpyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dus-prāpya (प्रातिपदिक; दुष् + प्राप्य)
• Form: यत्/ण्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive: ‘hard to obtain’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण (to kuṇḍam)

• akṛtātmabhiḥ: by the unself-controlled (impure-minded)
• akṛtātmabhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-kṛta-ātman (प्रातिपदिक; अ + कृत + आत्मन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति; बहुवचन; करण/हेतु (by/for persons of unpurified self)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aṣṭapuṣkara-kuṇḍa

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous sacred pond ringed by tīrtha-steps and bilva/ashoka trees; pilgrims with folded hands approach while a few figures symbolizing ‘akṛtātman’ turn away, unable to enter; subtle aura of sin being washed away in the water’s shimmer.

Characters & Entities

• Aṣṭapuṣkara Kuṇḍa
• Devī
• Puṣkarāraṇya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred waters purify, but access to their full spiritual fruit is linked to inner refinement and self-discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Aṣṭapuṣkara Kuṇḍa, a sin-removing sacred pond within/near Puṣkarāraṇya in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa itinerary.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implies tirtha-sevana (approaching the kuṇḍa for purification, typically through snāna), while stressing eligibility through cultivated conduct.