Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

अनयाः संपदो यद्वन्मखा यद्वददक्षिणाः । तद्वद्देशा दिशः सर्वा हीना गंगांभसा हरे

Transliteration

anayāḥ saṃpado yadvanmakhā yadvadadakṣiṇāḥ | tadvaddeśā diśaḥ sarvā hīnā gaṃgāṃbhasā hare

Translation

يا هارا، كما أنّ الثروة بلا استعمالٍ قويم، والقرابين بلا «دكشِنا» (عطاءٍ كهنوتي) لا ثمر لها؛ كذلك جميع الأقاليم والجهات ناقصة إذا خلت من مياه الغانغا.

Word by Word

• अनयाः: of this (Ganga)
• अनयाः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक (pronoun); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• संपदः: prosperities, fortunes
• संपदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संपद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• यद्वत्: just as
• यद्वत्: Sambandha (Comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद्वत् (अव्यय)
• Form: तुलनावाचक-अव्यय (comparative indeclinable)

• मखाः: sacrifices
• मखाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• यद्वत्: just as
• यद्वत्: Sambandha (Comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद्वत् (अव्यय)
• Form: तुलनावाचक-अव्यय (comparative indeclinable)

• अदक्षिणाः: without dakṣiṇā (fees/gifts)
• अदक्षिणाः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ- + दक्षिणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नञ्-समासभाव (negation prefix); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying मखाः)

• तद्वत्: so too
• तद्वत्: Sambandha (Comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्वत् (अव्यय)
• Form: तुलनावाचक-अव्यय (comparative indeclinable)

• देशाः: regions, lands
• देशाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• दिशः: directions
• दिशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying दिशः)

• हीनाः: devoid of
• हीनाः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हीन (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-भाव)
• Form: पुं/स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रयोगानुसार; अत्र स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying दिशः/देशाः)

• गंगाम्भसा: by the water of the Ganga
• गंगाम्भसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा + अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative): गङ्गायाः अम्भः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• हरे: O Hari
• हरे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (in Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Hara (Śiva) addressed

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotional address to Hara with Gaṅgā as the indispensable sanctifier of all quarters; symbolic imagery of barren directions becoming luminous when touched by Gaṅgā’s flow.

Characters & Entities

• Hara (Śiva)
• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred merit depends on proper spiritual connection; without Gaṅgā’s sanctifying presence, worldly completeness is considered lacking.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā as the paramount tīrtha, especially in the Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) context of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse implies the religious indispensability of Gaṅgā-water (for snāna, pāna, and purification).