Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अन्यत्रापि महादानं पापपिण्डो हरेन्नृप

Transliteration

anyatrāpi mahādānaṃ pāpapiṇḍo harennṛpa

Translation

即便在别处，噢大王，此大施——pāpapiṇḍa——亦能除去罪垢。

Word by Word

• अन्यत्र: elsewhere
• अन्यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), स्थानवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-अर्थ (also/even)

• महादानम्: great gift/major donation
• महादानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (singular); कर्मधारय-समासः (mahā + dāna)

• पापपिण्डः: the sin-offering ball (pāpa-piṇḍa)
• पापपिण्डः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa-piṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (singular); तत्पुरुष-समासः (पापस्य पिण्डः)

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

• नृप: O king
• नृप: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic teacher addressing a King)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pāpapiṇḍa-dāna (rite)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage assures a king that the great gift works even outside the main shrine; the background shifts from a specific temple to a generic village altar, indicating universality.

Characters & Entities

• nṛpa
• pāpapiṇḍa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The power of righteous charity is not confined to one locale; sincere mahādāna bears purifying fruit widely.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named; the verse explicitly extends the efficacy ‘elsewhere’ as well.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It affirms the pāpapiṇḍa as a mahādāna capable of removing sin even when performed in another place.