Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

जात्यंतरसहस्रेषु यत्पापं पूर्वसंचितम् । तत्कथं क्षयमाप्नोति तन्ममाचक्ष्व शंकर

Transliteration

jātyaṃtarasahasreṣu yatpāpaṃ pūrvasaṃcitam | tatkathaṃ kṣayamāpnoti tanmamācakṣva śaṃkara

Translation

那在千百次他生中所积聚的罪业，如何才能消尽枯竭？请为我开示此理，噢，商羯罗（Śaṅkara）。

Word by Word

• जात्यंतरसहस्रेषु: in thousands of other births
• जात्यंतरसहस्रेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाति + अन्तर + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (जात्यन्तराणां सहस्रेषु = in thousands of other births)

• यत्: which/whatever
• यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative), विशेषण (qualifying पापम्)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• पूर्वसंचितम्: previously accumulated
• पूर्वसंचितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्व + संचित (प्रातिपदिक; संचित = कृदन्त from चि)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कृदन्त (क्त), कर्मधारय (पूर्वं संचितम्)

• तत्: that (sin)
• तत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अनुवादक (correlative)

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• क्षयम्: destruction/cessation
• क्षयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• आप्नोति: attains
• आप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• तत्: that (matter)
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; अनुवादक (that matter)

• मम: to me/of me
• मम: Sampradana (Beneficiary/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• आचक्ष्व: tell/explain
• आचक्ष्व: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + चक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• शंकर: O Śaṅkara
• शंकर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Devī (Satī/Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devoted questioner, hands folded, asks Śaṅkara about the destruction of sins accumulated over countless births; the setting evokes the luminous coastal sanctity of Prabhāsa.

Characters & Entities

• Devī Satī
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Prabhāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It highlights the hope of deep karmic purification and asks how ancient accumulated sins can be destroyed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The question is asked in the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya context, implying Prabhāsa as a place of pāpa-kṣaya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly in this verse; it seeks the principle behind pāpa-kṣaya (sin exhaustion).