Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

स्मृतमात्रो यथा विष्णुः सर्वं पापं व्यपोहति । तथा प्रणाशमभ्येतु दैत्योऽयं मेघवाहनः

Transliteration

smṛtamātro yathā viṣṇuḥ sarvaṃ pāpaṃ vyapohati | tathā praṇāśamabhyetu daityo'yaṃ meghavāhanaḥ

Translation

正如毗湿奴仅被忆念便能驱散一切罪垢，愿此名为“梅伽婆诃那”的阿修罗亦遭彻底毁灭。

Word by Word

• स्मृतमात्रः: merely remembered
• स्मृतमात्रः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: smṛta (√smṛ स्मृ धातु, क्त कृदन्त) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘स्मृतः एव मात्रः’ = ‘merely remembered’; विष्णोः विशेषणम्

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमान/सम्बन्ध)

• विष्णुः: Viṣṇu
• विष्णुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सर्वम्: all
• सर्वम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; पापम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• व्यपोहति: removes/drives away
• व्यपोहति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √uh (ऊह् धातु) + vi-apa- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• तथा: so
• तथा: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (correlative)

• प्रणाशम्: complete destruction
• प्रणाशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: praṇāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अभ्येतु: may (he) attain
• अभ्येतु: Kriya (Imprecative action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √i (इ धातु) + abhi- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• दैत्यः: the demon
• दैत्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Visheshana (Deictic/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मेघवाहनः: Meghavāhana
• मेघवाहनः: Visheshana (Epithet/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: megha (प्रातिपदिक) + vāhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मेघस्य वाहनः)

Speaker

Ṛṣis

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī) as the addressee of the broader dialogue

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee-warrior prays that, as Viṣṇu’s mere remembrance annihilates sin, so the demon Meghavāhana be utterly destroyed; the air is charged with mantra-power and impending divine intervention.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Meghavāhana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even simple remembrance of the Lord is taught as transformative—purifying sin and invoking protection.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, the sacred setting where the sages’ remembrance and prayer are foregrounded.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Smaraṇa (remembrance) of Viṣṇu; implicitly, nāma-smaraṇa and devotional recollection.