Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

एकजन्मकृतं पापं निजकायेन निर्मितम् । कपालेश्वरदेवस्य सहस्रगुणितं हरेत्

Transliteration

ekajanmakṛtaṃ pāpaṃ nijakāyena nirmitam | kapāleśvaradevasya sahasraguṇitaṃ haret

Translation

ایک ہی جنم میں کیا گیا گناہ، جو اپنے ہی جسم سے پیدا ہوا—کپالیشور دیو اسے ہزار گنا کر کے (یعنی پوری طرح) دور کر دیتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• एकजन्मकृतम्: done in one lifetime
• एकजन्मकृतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka-janma-kṛta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (singular); भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle) कृत (√kṛ) ; तत्पुरुष-समासः (एकजन्मनि कृतम्)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• निजकायेन: by one’s own body
• निजकायेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nija-kāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन (singular); कर्मधारय-समासः (निजः कायः)

• निर्मितम्: produced/created
• निर्मितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-√mā (धातु) → nirmita (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (singular); भूतकृदन्त (PPP) निर्मित (made/produced)

• कपालेश्वरदेवस्य: of Lord Kapāleśvara
• कपालेश्वरदेवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapāla-īśvara-deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन (singular); तत्पुरुष-समासः (कपालेश्वरः देवः)

• सहस्रगुणितम्: multiplied a thousandfold
• सहस्रगुणितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahasra-guṇita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (singular); भूतकृदन्त (PPP) गुणित (multiplied) from √guṇ/√gaṇ (to multiply/count); तत्पुरुष-समासः (सहस्रेण गुणितम्)

• हरेत्: should remove
• हरेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √hṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic teacher addressing a King)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapāleśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kapāleśvara Śiva-linga radiates intense light; a devotee offers expiatory gifts, while dark smoke-like ‘sins’ dissolve into the radiance, suggesting thousandfold cleansing.

Characters & Entities

• Kapāleśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śaiva sacred power magnifies purification: devotion and rite connected to Kapāleśvara grant extraordinary sin-removal.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapāleśvara Deva (Kapāleśvara tīrtha/temple context implied) is explicitly praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It states the fruit (phala): connection with Kapāleśvara yields thousandfold removal of sins of one lifetime.