Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

एतद्वः सर्वमाख्यातं रामह्रदसमुद्भवम् । माहात्म्यं ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः सर्वपातकनाशनम्

Transliteration

etadvaḥ sarvamākhyātaṃ rāmahradasamudbhavam | māhātmyaṃ brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhāḥ sarvapātakanāśanam

Translation

اے برہمنوں میں برگزیدو! میں نے تمہیں رامہرد سے وابستہ یہ سارا ماہاتمیہ بیان کر دیا ہے، جو ہر گناہ کو مٹانے والا ہے۔

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वः: to you/for you
• वः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी/षष्ठी-विभक्ति (4th/6th: dative/genitive), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• सर्वम्: all, entire
• सर्वम्: Karma-visheshana (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• आख्यातम्: has been narrated
• आख्यातम्: Kriya (Predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√ख्या (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि: ‘has been told’

• रामह्रदसमुद्भवम्: originating from Rāma-hrada
• रामह्रदसमुद्भवम्: Karma-visheshana (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रामह्रद (प्रातिपदिक; राम + ह्रद) + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक; सम्+उद्+√भू)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘रामह्रदात् समुद्भवम्’ (arisen from Rāma-hrada)

• माहात्म्यम्: the greatness (māhātmya)
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Apposition/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः: O best Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative/Nominative form), बहुवचन; ‘श्रेष्ठा ब्राह्मणाः’ (O best of Brahmins)

• सर्वपातकनाशनम्: destroying all sins
• सर्वपातकनाशनम्: Karma-visheshana (Appositional qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + पातक (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘सर्वेषां पातकानां नाशनम्’ (destroyer of all sins)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rāmahrada

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (addressed as ‘brāhmaṇa-śreṣṭhāḥ’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta concludes the discourse to the assembled brāhmaṇas; the scene is a teaching hall or forest āśrama with attentive listeners, and a subtle vision of Rāmahrada shimmering behind—signifying that the narrative itself purifies.

Characters & Entities

• Rāmahrada

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are framed as moral-spiritual purifiers; hearing their māhātmya itself is a dhārmic gain.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rāmahrada is explicitly named as the source of the māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new rite is prescribed; the verse formally concludes the exposition and highlights sin-destroying efficacy.