Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 62

Devanagari script

मधुस्रवेति प्रथममेषा पुष्करिणी स्मृता । कृतकृत्या ततो ज्ञेया ततोऽसौ क्षीरनीरधिः

Transliteration

madhusraveti prathamameṣā puṣkariṇī smṛtā | kṛtakṛtyā tato jñeyā tato'sau kṣīranīradhiḥ

Translation

এই পুষ্কৰিণী প্ৰথমে ‘মধুস্ৰৱা’ (মধুৰ ধাৰা-বহা) বুলি স্মৰণীয়। তাৰ পাছত ‘কৃতকৃত্যা’ (সকলো লক্ষ্য সিদ্ধ কৰা) বুলি জানিব লাগে। তাৰ পিছত ই ‘ক্ষীৰ-নীৰাধি’—দুধসদৃশ জলেৰে সাগৰসম ভাণ্ডাৰ বুলি কোৱা হয়।

Word by Word

• मधुस्रवा: ‘Madhusravā’ (honey-flowing)
• मधुस्रवा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhu-sravā (मधु + स्रवा; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); नाम (proper name)

• इति: thus; called
• इति: Vacana-paryavasāna (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, इत्यर्थक-निपात (quotative particle)

• प्रथमम्: first(ly)
• प्रथमम्: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prathama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); क्रियाविशेषणवत् (used adverbially)

• एषा: this (she/this one)
• एषा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• पुष्करिणी: the sacred pond
• पुष्करिणी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣkariṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• स्मृता: is remembered/called
• स्मृता: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (स्मृ धातु) + क्त (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त-भूतकर्मणि/भूतकालिक-विशेषण (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive sense)

• कृतकृत्या: ‘Kṛtakṛtyā’ (one whose duty is done)
• कृतकृत्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta-kṛtyā (कृत + कृत्या; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); नाम (proper name)

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रम/अनन्तरार्थक (sequencing adverb: ‘then/thereafter’)

• ज्ञेया: is to be known (as)
• ज्ञेया: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jñā (ज्ञा धातु) + तव्यत् (तव्यत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (gerundive/future passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय (to be known/called)

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रम/अनन्तरार्थक

• असौ: that (one)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• क्षीरनीरधिः: ‘Kṣīranīradhi’ (ocean of milk and water)
• क्षीरनीरधिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣīra-nīra-dhi (क्षीर + नीर + धि/धि(धि)=धि?; प्रातिपदिक ‘निधि/धि’ in sense ‘ocean/heap’ → ‘निधि/धि’ as ‘adhi’ in lexeme ‘nīradhi’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); नाम (proper name)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: (Unnamed here) pushkariṇī/kuṇḍa with epithets Madhusravā, Kṛtakṛtyā, Kṣīra-nīrādhi

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lotus-filled tank in Kāśī shimmering like milk; devotees cup water in their palms; the narrator points as if naming each epithet; honey-like golden light falls on the water surface.

Characters & Entities

• Madhusravā
• Puṣkariṇī
• Kṛtakṛtyā
• Kṣīranīrādhi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A single holy place can bear many sacred epithets, each revealing a distinct spiritual power—sweetness, fulfilment, and purifying abundance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A puṣkariṇī (sacred tank) in Kāśī, praised through its multiple traditional names.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse primarily records the tīrtha’s revered names for remembrance and recitation.