Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

यो ददाति शरीरं च कृत्वा हेममयं ततः । मुच्यते नात्र संदेहः पातकैः पूर्वसंयुतैः

Transliteration

yo dadāti śarīraṃ ca kṛtvā hemamayaṃ tataḥ | mucyate nātra saṃdehaḥ pātakaiḥ pūrvasaṃyutaiḥ

Translation

جو شخص سونے سے بنایا ہوا جسمانی پیکر دان کرے، وہ بے شک پہلے جمع شدہ گناہوں سے آزاد ہو جاتا ہے؛ اس میں کوئی شک نہیں۔

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• dadāti: gives
• dadāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā दा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śarīram: a body
• śarīram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• ca: and
• ca: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• kṛtvā: having made
• kṛtvā: Kriya (Gerundial subordinate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकाल (having made)

• hemamayam: made of gold
• hemamayam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hema + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifies śarīram)

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), अनन्तरार्थे (thereafter/then)

• mucyate: is freed
• mucyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √muc मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः (passive sense: is freed)

• na: not
• na: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation)

• atra: here/in this matter
• atra: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: here/in this matter)

• saṃdehaḥ: doubt
• saṃdehaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃdeha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृपद (of implied 'asti')

• pātakaiḥ: with sins
• pātakaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/Association/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; सह/हेतौ (with/by)

• pūrvasaṃyutaiḥ: previously associated (with)
• pūrvasaṃyutaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva + saṃyuta (कृदन्त; √yuj युज्)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifies pātakaiḥ)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāpāleśvara (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee offers a small golden human-form effigy to a Śaiva priest before a liṅga shrine; sages witness, with ritual vessels and lamps nearby.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Self-purification is supported through sacrificial generosity: symbolic giving (dāna) is portrayed as a potent means to dissolve past demerit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The statement belongs to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra/Kāpāleśvara context of Adhyāya 269.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A dāna of a ‘body’ made of gold (hemamaya-śarīra), i.e., a golden effigy/body-form gift, is prescribed for release from sins.