Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 93

Devanagari script

तुलापुरुषदानेन यत्पुण्यं सम्यगाप्यते । काशीदर्शनमात्रेण तत्पुण्यं श्रद्धयास्तु वै

Transliteration

tulāpuruṣadānena yatpuṇyaṃ samyagāpyate | kāśīdarśanamātreṇa tatpuṇyaṃ śraddhayāstu vai

Translation

তুলাপুৰুষ দানে যি পুণ্য যথাযথভাৱে লাভ হয়, সেই একে পুণ্য কেবল কাশীৰ দৰ্শনমাত্ৰে—শ্ৰদ্ধাৰে দৰ্শন কৰিলে—নিশ্চয় লাভ হয়।

Word by Word

• tulāpuruṣadānena: by the gift called tulāpuruṣa (weighing a person and donating)
• tulāpuruṣadānena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tulā-puruṣa-dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; समासः—तुला + पुरुष (तत्पुरुषः) + दान (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• yat: whatever/that which
• yat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• samyak: properly, fully
• samyak: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samyak (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण

• āpyate: is obtained
• āpyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• kāśīdarśanamātreṇa: by mere sight of Kāśī
• kāśīdarśanamātreṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī-darśana-mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; समासः—काशी + दर्शन (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः) + मात्र (तत्पुरुषः)

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• śraddhayā: with faith
• śraddhayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śraddhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• astu: let it be / may it be
• astu: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (निश्चयार्थ/एव-भावे)

Speaker

Viṣṇu (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (darśana of the kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim arriving at Kāśī’s threshold, eyes filled with devotion; the city’s skyline of temples and ghats appears like a sacred vision. The act is ‘mere sight’ yet charged with faith, contrasted implicitly with the grandeur of weighing-gift rituals.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Tulāpuruṣa-dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faith-filled darśana of a supremely holy place can confer merits comparable to major acts of charity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), whose very sight is said to bestow extraordinary spiritual merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tulāpuruṣa-dāna is referenced as a benchmark; the verse emphasizes faithful darśana of Kāśī.