Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

तत्र कुण्डं महादेवि ह्यष्टपुष्करसंज्ञितम् । सर्व पापहरं देवि दुष्प्राप्यमकृतात्मभिः

Transliteration

tatra kuṇḍaṃ mahādevi hyaṣṭapuṣkarasaṃjñitam | sarva pāpaharaṃ devi duṣprāpyamakṛtātmabhiḥ

Translation

وہاں، اے مہادیوی، ‘اشٹ پُشکر’ نام کا ایک مقدّس کنڈ ہے۔ اے دیوی، یہ سب گناہوں کو ہرا لیتا ہے، مگر بے ضبط سیرت والوں کے لیے اس تک پہنچنا دشوار ہے۔

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb: there)

• kuṇḍam: a sacred pond
• kuṇḍam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन; विषय (there is a pond)

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/indeed)

• aṣṭapuṣkarasaṃjñitam: called ‘Aṣṭapuṣkara’
• aṣṭapuṣkarasaṃjñitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭa-puṣkara-saṃjñita (प्रातिपदिक; अष्ट + पुष्कर + संज्ञित)
• Form: क्त (PPP from √jñā with sam-: संज्ञित ‘named’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण (to kuṇḍam)

• sarva: all
• sarva: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया/प्रथमा; एकवचन; विशेषण (to pāpa)

• pāpaharam: sin-destroying
• pāpaharam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa-hara (प्रातिपदिक; पाप + हर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण (sin-removing)

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचन

• duṣprāpyam: difficult to attain
• duṣprāpyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dus-prāpya (प्रातिपदिक; दुष् + प्राप्य)
• Form: यत्/ण्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive: ‘hard to obtain’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण (to kuṇḍam)

• akṛtātmabhiḥ: by the unself-controlled (impure-minded)
• akṛtātmabhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-kṛta-ātman (प्रातिपदिक; अ + कृत + आत्मन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति; बहुवचन; करण/हेतु (by/for persons of unpurified self)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aṣṭapuṣkara-kuṇḍa

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous sacred pond ringed by tīrtha-steps and bilva/ashoka trees; pilgrims with folded hands approach while a few figures symbolizing ‘akṛtātman’ turn away, unable to enter; subtle aura of sin being washed away in the water’s shimmer.

Characters & Entities

• Aṣṭapuṣkara Kuṇḍa
• Devī
• Puṣkarāraṇya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred waters purify, but access to their full spiritual fruit is linked to inner refinement and self-discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Aṣṭapuṣkara Kuṇḍa, a sin-removing sacred pond within/near Puṣkarāraṇya in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa itinerary.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implies tirtha-sevana (approaching the kuṇḍa for purification, typically through snāna), while stressing eligibility through cultivated conduct.