Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

नाम्ना वरुणपदं तच्च पापक्षयकरं भुवि । नभस्ये पौर्णमास्यां च संतर्प्य पितृदेवताः

Transliteration

nāmnā varuṇapadaṃ tacca pāpakṣayakaraṃ bhuvi | nabhasye paurṇamāsyāṃ ca saṃtarpya pitṛdevatāḥ

Translation

此圣渡名为“伐楼那足迹”（Varuṇapada），在世间能灭除诸罪。于纳婆斯月的满月之日，先以供养使祖灵诸神（Pitṛ）得以满足……

Word by Word

• nāmnā: by name
• nāmnā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण/हेतुवाचक (by name)

• varuṇapadam: (called) Varuṇa-pada
• varuṇapadam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varuṇa + pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समास: वरुण-पद (वरुणस्य पदम्/स्थानम्)

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• pāpakṣayakaram: causing destruction of sins
• pāpakṣayakaram: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa + kṣaya + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समास: पाप-क्षय-कर (पापस्य क्षयं करोति इति)

• bhuvi: on earth
• bhuvi: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• nabhasye: in (the month of) Nabhasya
• nabhasye: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nabhasya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; मासवाचक (in the month Nabhasya/Bhādrapada)

• paurṇamāsyām: on the full-moon day
• paurṇamāsyām: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paurṇamāsī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• saṃtarpya: having satisfied (offered oblations to)
• saṃtarpya: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ-tṛp (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), धातु: तृप् (तर्पणे) उपसर्ग: सम्

• pitṛdevatāḥ: the Pitṛ-deities (ancestors)
• pitṛdevatāḥ: Karma (Object of saṃtarpya/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ + devatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; समास: पितृ-देवताः (पितर एव देवताः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Dvārakā Māhātmya; specific speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Varuṇapada

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred coastal/riverine tīrtha named Varuṇapada on a luminous full-moon night; pilgrims offer tarpaṇa with cupped hands, water shimmering with moonlight; Varuṇa’s presence suggested by aquatic motifs and a calm, vast horizon.

Characters & Entities

• Varuṇapada
• Pitṛs
• Nabhas (month)
• Paurṇamāsī (full moon)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha worship includes responsibility to ancestors; proper propitiation of the Pitṛs at an auspicious time supports purification and well-being.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Varuṇapada, a sin-destroying tīrtha established by Varuṇa at Dvārakā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pitṛ-tarpaṇa/propitiation on Nabhas month’s Paurṇimā (full moon) in connection with the tīrtha.