Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

पापानि पापिनां हत्वा महांत्यपि बहून्यपि । काशीतीर्थानि मध्याह्ने प्रायश्चित्तचिकीर्षया

Transliteration

pāpāni pāpināṃ hatvā mahāṃtyapi bahūnyapi | kāśītīrthāni madhyāhne prāyaścittacikīrṣayā

Translation

إذ تُفني تيـرثاتُ كاشي خطايا المذنبين—وإن كثرت وعظمت—فإنّ طالبي الكفّارة والتطهير (prāyaścitta) يقصدونها عند انتصاف النهار.

Word by Word

• पापानि: sins
• पापानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), बहुवचन

• पापिनाम्: of sinners
• पापिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पापिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Case 6), बहुवचन

• हत्वा: having killed/destroyed
• हत्वा: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• महान्ति: great
• महान्ति: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महन्त् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), बहुवचन; विशेषण (पापानि)

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-भाव

• बहूनि: many
• बहूनि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), बहुवचन; विशेषण (पापानि)

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), पुनरुक्त-बल

• काशीतीर्थानि: the Kāśī sacred fords
• काशीतीर्थानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; काशी + तीर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Case 2), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (काश्याः तीर्थानि)

• मध्याह्ने: at midday
• मध्याह्ने: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्याह्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Case 7), एकवचन

• प्रायश्चित्तचिकीर्षया: with the intention to perform expiation
• प्रायश्चित्तचिकीर्षया: Karana/Hetu (Instrument/Cause/करण-हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रायश्चित्त-चिकीर्षा (प्रातिपदिक; प्रायश्चित्त + चिकीर्षा)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Case 3), एकवचन; हेतौ तृतीया (instrumental of purpose); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (प्रायश्चित्तस्य चिकीर्षा)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī tīrthas (collective)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims at midday moving between Kāśī’s ghāṭas and kuṇḍas, carrying waterpots and flowers, making sankalpa for expiation under the blazing zenith sun; priests guide them toward purificatory baths.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• tīrthas
• prāyaścitta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is framed as a potent field for purification where sincere expiation becomes effective, even for heavy wrongdoing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s tīrthas collectively (with the chapter’s trajectory pointing toward Maṇikarṇikā as the summit).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Approaching Kāśī tīrthas at midday (madhyāhna) with the intention of prāyaścitta (expiatory purification).