Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

विहाय मथुरां काशीमवन्तीं सर्वपापहाम् । मायां कांचीमयोध्यां च संप्राप्ते च कलौ युगे

Transliteration

vihāya mathurāṃ kāśīmavantīṃ sarvapāpahām | māyāṃ kāṃcīmayodhyāṃ ca saṃprāpte ca kalau yuge

Translation

当迦利时代来临之时，且暂置摩图罗（Mathurā）、迦尸（Kāśī）、能灭尽诸罪的阿凡提（Avantī），并亦暂置摩耶（Māyā，哈利德瓦尔 Haridvāra）、建志（Kāñcī）与阿约提亚（Ayodhyā）——

Word by Word

• विहाय: having abandoned/after leaving
• विहाय: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वि-हā (धातु) → विहाय (क्त्वान्त/अव्ययभाव)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययप्रयोगः; धातु: √हा (to abandon) उपसर्ग: वि-

• मथुराम्: Mathurā
• मथुराम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मथुरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• काशीम्: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• काशीम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अवन्तीम्: Avantī (Ujjayinī)
• अवन्तीम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवन्ती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सर्वपापहाम्: destroyer of all sins
• सर्वपापहाम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + पाप + हन् (धातु/प्रातिपदिक: हन् → ह (हनन्) ‘slayer’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेषां पापानां हन्त्री)

• मायाम्: Māyā (name of a city/region)
• मायाम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• काञ्चीम्: Kāñcī
• काञ्चीम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काञ्ची (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अयोध्याम्: Ayodhyā
• अयोध्याम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयोध्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• संप्राप्ते: when (it) has arrived/when it has come
• संप्राप्ते: Adhikaraṇa (Locative circumstance)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-प्र-आप् (धातु) → संप्राप्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-सम्भव (सन्दर्भे ‘कलौ युगे’ इति अधिकरणे)

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

• कलौ: in Kali (age)
• कलौ: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• युगे: in the age/era
• युगे: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Viṣṇu (deduced; continuation into first-person residence in next verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A map-like procession of six famed cities, each shown with its iconic markers—Mathurā’s Yamunā ghāṭs, Kāśī’s ghāṭs and liṅga, Avantī’s Mahākāla, Haridvāra’s Gaṅgā, Kāñcī’s temple towers, Ayodhyā’s Sarayū—while a narrator gestures that in Kali-yuga a different focus is required.

Characters & Entities

• Mathurā
• Kāśī
• Avantī (Ujjain)
• Māyā
• Kāñcī
• Ayodhyā
• Kali Yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even among famed tīrthas, the text prepares to elevate a Kali-yuga-accessible refuge by contrasting other celebrated holy cities.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate context is Dvārakā Māhātmya; the verse lists other tīrthas as a prelude to Dvārakā’s special status in Kali Yuga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it is a tīrtha-hierarchy statement within Kali-yuga framing.