Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

अस्मत्संपर्कसंबंधात्स्नानशौचाशनादिभिः । पुनंति प्राणिनः सर्वे पापेन परिवेष्टिताः

Transliteration

asmatsaṃparkasaṃbaṃdhātsnānaśaucāśanādibhiḥ | punaṃti prāṇinaḥ sarve pāpena pariveṣṭitāḥ

Translation

“ہم سے چھونے اور تعلق کے سبب—غسل، طہارت، پینے وغیرہ کے ذریعے—گناہ میں لپٹے ہوئے بھی سب جاندار پاک ہو جاتے ہیں۔”

Word by Word

• asmat-saṃparka-saṃbandhāt: from association with us
• asmat-saṃparka-saṃbandhāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmat + saṃparka + saṃbandha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-श्रृंखला: ‘asmākam saṃparka-saṃbandhāt’ = ‘from connection/association with us’

• snāna-śauca-aśana-ādibhiḥ: by bathing, cleansing, eating, etc.
• snāna-śauca-aśana-ādibhiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna + śauca + aśana + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (समाहार-द्वन्द्व), तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ‘by bathing, purification, eating, etc.’

• punanti: purify
• punanti: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pū (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘they purify’

• prāṇinaḥ: living beings
• prāṇinaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; ‘living beings’

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karma (Qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् ‘all’ (qualifying prāṇinaḥ)

• pāpena: by sin
• pāpena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; ‘by/with sin’

• pariveṣṭitāḥ: enveloped, surrounded
• pariveṣṭitāḥ: Karta (Qualifier of object in sense/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari-√veṣṭ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle): पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘enveloped/surrounded’ (qualifying prāṇinaḥ)

Speaker

The Waters (Āpaḥ), continuing their statement to the Purodhas

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra tīrtha-jala (local sacred waters)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Waters speak as compassionate deities, declaring that by bathing, cleansing, drinking, and related contact, all beings—though wrapped in sin—are purified; the scene can show pilgrims at a sacred stream with divine presence shimmering in the water.

Characters & Entities

• Āpaḥ (Waters)
• Prāṇinaḥ (living beings)
• Snāna
• Śauca
• Pāpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred water is a divine medium of renewal: by rightful use (bathing, cleansing, drinking), beings can move from sin-burdened life toward purity and dharmic living.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

While not naming a single tīrtha, the verse supports the broader tīrtha-mahātmya principle central to Kedāra-khaṇḍa: waters associated with sacred places purify.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) and śauca (cleansing practices), along with water-use in consumption, are upheld as purifying acts.