Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

एतत्ते कथितं देवि मानसं तीर्थलक्षणम् । भौमानामपि तीर्थानां पुण्यत्वे कारणं शृणु

Transliteration

etatte kathitaṃ devi mānasaṃ tīrthalakṣaṇam | bhaumānāmapi tīrthānāṃ puṇyatve kāraṇaṃ śṛṇu

Translation

هكذا، أيتها الإلهة، قد بُيِّن لكَتِ سِمَةُ تيرثا الذهن. فاسمعي الآن سببَ كونِ التيرثات الأرضية أيضًا ذاتَ قداسة.

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• कथितम्: has been told
• कथितम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थक

• देवि: O goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• मानसम्: mental, inner
• मानसम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मानस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (तीर्थलक्षणम् इति)

• तीर्थ-लक्षणम्: the characteristic/definition of a tīrtha
• तीर्थ-लक्षणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + लक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तीर्थस्य लक्षणम्)

• भौमानाम्: of earthly (ones)
• भौमानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भौम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; विशेषण (तीर्थानाम्)

• अपि: also, even
• अपि: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक (also/even)

• तीर्थानाम्: of sacred places
• तीर्थानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• पुण्यत्वे: in (their) holiness/merit-status
• पुण्यत्वे: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्यत्व (प्रातिपदिक; भावप्रत्यय -त्व)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• कारणम्: the cause
• कारणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• शृणु: hear, listen
• शृणु: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya; ‘devi’ indicates the listener is addressed as Goddess in this passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mānasa-tīrtha (as lakṣaṇa) and Bhūma-tīrthas (earthly tīrthas)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī (Devī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva as teacher seated with Pārvatī; between them a schematic: an inner heart-lotus labeled ‘mānasa-tīrtha’ and an outer map-like earth with highlighted sacred nodes; the scene conveys a shift from inner definition to outer causation.

Characters & Entities

• Mānasa Tīrtha
• Bhūma (earthly) Tīrthas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

After establishing inner tīrtha, the text explains the theological basis for the sanctity of physical pilgrimage sites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site; the verse transitions from Mānasa Tīrtha to the general sanctity of earthly tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A teaching instruction: ‘śṛṇu’—listen to the cause of tīrtha-holiness; no specific rite is prescribed here.