Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 109

Devanagari script

यथा वह्निर्दहेत्सर्वं शुष्कमार्द्रमथापि वा । भस्मीभवंति पापानि तत्समागममज्जनात्

Transliteration

yathā vahnirdahetsarvaṃ śuṣkamārdramathāpi vā | bhasmībhavaṃti pāpāni tatsamāgamamajjanāt

Translation

ดุจไฟเผาผลาญสรรพสิ่ง ไม่ว่าจะแห้งหรือชื้น ฉันใด บาปทั้งหลายก็ย่อมกลายเป็นเถ้าธุลีด้วยการอาบน้ำ ณ สังฆมะอันศักดิ์สิทธิ์นั้น ฉันนั้น

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha/Comparison marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानार्थक-अव्यय (comparative: “just as”)

• वह्निः: fire
• वह्निः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वह्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• दहेत्: would burn
• दहेत्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दह् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समस्तवाचक

• शुष्कम्: dry
• शुष्कम्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुष्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वम् इति विशेषण

• आर्द्रम्: wet
• आर्द्रम्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आर्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; (शुष्कम् ... आर्द्रम्) द्वन्द्वार्थे सूची

• अथ: and/then
• अथ: Discourse connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक/समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (then/and)

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Emphasis/Addition particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक-निपात (also/even)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha/Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (or)

• भस्मीभवन्ति: become ashes
• भस्मीभवन्ति: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भस्मी√भू (धातु; नामधातु/कृदन्त-आधारित)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्; नामधातु-प्रयोगः (भस्मीभू = to become ashes)

• पापानि: sins
• पापानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• तत्: that (sacred)
• तत्: Sambandha (determinative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे सम्बन्धसूचक; (समागम इति विशेषणार्थे)

• समागम: confluence/meeting
• समागम: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समागम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; मज्जनात् इत्यस्य सम्बन्धः

• मज्जनात्: from bathing (there)
• मज्जनात्: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Ablative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मज्जन (प्रातिपदिक; √मज्ज् + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थ (cause)

Speaker

Unknown (Ayodhyāmāhātmya narrator; likely a Purāṇic teacher addressing a listener)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarayū–Ghargharā Saṅgama

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the confluence, a devotee emerges from the water while a symbolic fire blazes in the background; dark ‘sin’ forms dissolve into ash-like motes carried away by the current.

Characters & Entities

• Saṅgama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contact with a sanctified place through prescribed bathing is portrayed as a powerful purifier of karmic stain.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The saṅgama (confluence) associated with Ayodhyā’s sacred waters, traditionally linked with the Sarayū.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Majjana/snānā—immersive bathing at the confluence.