Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 189

Devanagari script

दशभिर्दिनजं पापं विंशत्या वत्सरोद्भवम् । षडक्षरस्य जाप्येन पापं क्षालयते नरः

Transliteration

daśabhirdinajaṃ pāpaṃ viṃśatyā vatsarodbhavam | ṣaḍakṣarasya jāpyena pāpaṃ kṣālayate naraḥ

Translation

دس (جپ) سے ایک دن کا پیدا شدہ گناہ دھل جاتا ہے، بیس سے ایک سال کا جمع شدہ گناہ۔ چھ حرفی منتر کے جپ سے انسان گناہ کو پاک کر لیتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• दशभिः: by ten
• दशभिः: Karana (Measure/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशन् (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Instrumental plural (by ten)

• दिनजम्: arising from (a number of) days
• दिनजम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिन + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘born of days’; qualifies ‘पापम्’

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• विंशत्या: by twenty
• विंशत्या: Karana (Measure/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विंशति (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Instrumental singular (by twenty)

• वत्सरोद्भवम्: arising from a year
• वत्सरोद्भवम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वत्सर + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘arising from a year’; qualifies ‘पापम्’

• षडक्षरस्य: of the six-syllabled (mantra)
• षडक्षरस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षड् + अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Genitive singular; ‘of the six-syllabled (mantra)’

• जाप्येन: by (its) recitation
• जाप्येन: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाप्य (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √जप्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Instrumental singular; ‘by recitation’

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• क्षालयते: washes away; cleanses
• क्षालयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षल् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; Present indicative, 3rd sg; causative sense ‘washes away’ in usage

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

Speaker

Suvrata

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee performing japa with a visible count motif: beads, tally marks, or a small palm-leaf note; the river beside him; dark stains (symbolic sins) fading as counts increase.

Characters & Entities

• ṣaḍakṣara-mantra (Śaiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular, even small-count japa is presented as a practical method for steady purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is delivered within a tīrtha-mahātmya narrative; the focus here is the mantra’s purificatory efficacy.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do ṣaḍakṣara-mantra japa with specified counts (ten, twenty) as a discipline for washing away sins.