Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 189

Devanagari script

पापघ्नी चाष्टमी प्रोक्ता कृष्णस्यातीव वल्लभा । कृता कलौ युगे पुत्र द्वारका मोक्षदायिनी

Transliteration

pāpaghnī cāṣṭamī proktā kṛṣṇasyātīva vallabhā | kṛtā kalau yuge putra dvārakā mokṣadāyinī

Translation

اشٹمی کو ‘پاپ گھنی’ (گناہ ہارنے والی) کہا گیا ہے اور وہ کرشن کو نہایت عزیز ہے۔ اے بیٹے! کلی یگ میں دوارکا کی پناہ لے کر اس کی سیوا کرنے سے موکش عطا ہوتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• pāpaghnī: sin-destroying
• pāpaghnī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa-ghnī (प्रातिपदिक; घ्निन्-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘पापं हन्ति’ इति (fem. nom. sg.)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• aṣṭamī: the eighth (tithi/day), Aṣṭamī
• aṣṭamī: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (fem. nom. sg.)

• proktā: is said/declared
• proktā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-√vac (वच्) (कृदन्त—क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (fem. nom. sg.)

• kṛṣṇasya: of Kṛṣṇa
• kṛṣṇasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (masc. gen. sg.)

• atīva: very, exceedingly
• atīva: Viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atīva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—अतिशयार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (intensifying adverb)

• vallabhā: beloved
• vallabhā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vallabhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (fem. nom. sg.)

• kṛtā: made/established
• kṛtā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √kṛ (कृ) (कृदन्त—क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (fem. nom. sg.)

• kalau: in Kali (age)
• kalau: Adhikaraṇa (Location/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (masc. loc. sg.)

• yuge: in the yuga/age
• yuge: Adhikaraṇa (Location/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (neut. loc. sg.)

• putra: O son
• putra: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन (voc. sg.)

• dvārakā: Dvārakā
• dvārakā: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvārakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (fem. nom. sg.)

• mokṣadāyinī: granting liberation
• mokṣadāyinī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mokṣa-dāyinī (प्रातिपदिक; दायिन्-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘मोक्षं ददाति’ (fem. nom. sg.)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (instructional voice within Dvārakā Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ‘Putra’ addressed within the verse (disciple/son figure)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night of Aṣṭamī in Dvārakā: devotees with lamps and tulasī garlands approach Kṛṣṇa’s temple; a banner reads ‘Pāpaghnī Aṣṭamī’; the sea glimmers, suggesting purification and liberation.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Dvārakā
• Kali Yuga
• Pāpaghnī Aṣṭamī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion to Kṛṣṇa through sacred-time observance and refuge in Dvārakā is praised as a direct path to purification and mokṣa in Kali Yuga.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā is explicitly praised as mokṣa-dāyinī (a giver of liberation).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observance of the sin-destroying Aṣṭamī (Pāpaghnī) as a Kṛṣṇa-beloved vrata.