Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

यत्र विष्णुर्हयग्रीवो भक्तचिंतितमर्पयेत् । हयग्रीवाच्च वै तीर्थाद्गजतीर्थं विशिष्यते

Transliteration

yatra viṣṇurhayagrīvo bhaktaciṃtitamarpayet | hayagrīvācca vai tīrthādgajatīrthaṃ viśiṣyate

Translation

حيث إنَّ فيشنو، في هيئة هاياگريفا، يمنح العابدين ما تمنّته قلوبهم—فهناك الموضع المقدّس. وحتى بعد تيرثا هاياگريفا يُعلَن تيرثا الفيل (غاجا تيرثا) أسمى وأفضل.

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक देशवाचक अव्यय (relative locative adverb: where)

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

• हयग्रीवः: Hayagrīva
• हयग्रीवः: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण/Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्रीव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास; विष्णोः विशेषण/नाम

• भक्त-चिंतितम्: what devotees desire
• भक्त-चिंतितम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + चिंतित (चिन्त् धातु + क्त कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (भक्तैः चिंतितम् = desired by devotees)

• अर्पयेत्: would grant/offer
• अर्पयेत्: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्पय् (अर्प् causative/णिजन्त धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• हयग्रीवात्: than Hayagrīva (tīrtha)
• हयग्रीवात्: Apadana (अपादान/Comparison-source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हयग्रीव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Conjunction
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात, निश्चयार्थक/खलु-अर्थे (indeed)

• तीर्थात्: from/than the tīrtha
• तीर्थात्: Apadana (अपादान/Comparison-source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गज-तीर्थम्: Gajatīrtha
• गज-तीर्थम्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (गजस्य तीर्थम्) नाम

• विशिष्यते: is distinguished/excels
• विशिष्यते: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि+शिष् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (as Liṅga)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hayagrīva Tīrtha; Gaja Tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A shrine or icon of Viṣṇu as Hayagrīva (horse-headed) blessing a kneeling devotee; nearby, a symbolic elephant (gaja) motif marks the superior Gaja Tīrtha, with pilgrims moving onward in reverent procession.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Hayagrīva
• Hayagrīva Tīrtha
• Gaja Tīrtha
• Kāśī
• Vārāṇasī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text portrays tīrthas as living channels of divine compassion, where Viṣṇu’s forms respond to devotion; it also teaches gradations of sacred potency.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hayagrīva Tīrtha (where Viṣṇu-Hayagrīva fulfills devotees’ wishes) and, as even more distinguished, Gaja Tīrtha in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied pilgrimage observances—approaching the tīrtha with devotion for fulfillment; no single explicit rite is specified.