Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 170

Devanagari script

ग्रहणानंतरे स्नानं दंडखातेति पुण्यदम् । जैगीषव्य गुहा तत्र तत्र लिंगं तदाह्वयम्

Transliteration

grahaṇānaṃtare snānaṃ daṃḍakhāteti puṇyadam | jaigīṣavya guhā tatra tatra liṃgaṃ tadāhvayam

Translation

গ্রহণের অব্যবহিত পরে সেখানে স্নান করা মহাপুণ্যদায়ক; সেই পবিত্র স্থান ‘দণ্ডখাত’ নামে প্রসিদ্ধ। সেখানেই জৈগীষব্যের গুহা আছে, এবং সেখানে প্রতিষ্ঠিত লিঙ্গটি সেই নামেই খ্যাত।

Word by Word

• ग्रहण: of the eclipse
• ग्रहण: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रहण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — ‘of eclipse’ (समासपूर्वपद)

• अनन्तरे: immediately after
• अनन्तरे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — ‘immediately after’ (अधिकरणे)

• स्नानम्: bath; bathing
• स्नानम्: Karma/Predicate-Noun (कर्म/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• दण्डखात: the ‘Daṇḍakhāta’ (name of a place/spot)
• दण्डखात: Karma/Predicate-Noun (कर्म/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दण्ड + खात (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दण्डस्य खातम्)

• इति: thus; called
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्तिसूचक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• पुण्यदम्: bestowing merit
• पुण्यदम्: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्यद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (snānam/daṇḍakhātam)

• जैगीषव्य: Jaigīṣavya (proper name)
• जैगीषव्य: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जैगीषव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; संबोधनार्थे नाम (ऋषिनाम)

• गुहा: cave
• गुहा: Karta/Predicate-Noun (कर्ता/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुहा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• तत्र: there (indeed)
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (repetition for emphasis)

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga (Śiva-emblem)
• लिङ्गम्: Karta/Predicate-Noun (कर्ता/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; निर्देशक सर्वनाम (demonstrative)

• आह्वयम्: named; called
• आह्वयम्: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आह्वय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; ‘named/called’ (विशेषणम्)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Daṇḍakhāta

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (ṛṣis/śaunaka-lineage style implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims bathe at a small sacred water-spot just after an eclipse; nearby a cave-mouth (guhā) with a Śiva-liṅga shrine bearing the name Jaigīṣavya; twilight sky transitioning from eclipse shadow to clear light.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Daṇḍakhāta
• Jaigīṣavya
• Jaigīṣavya-guhā
• Śiva-liṅga
• Grahaṇa (eclipse)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Auspicious times like eclipses intensify tīrtha-merit; disciplined bathing (snāna) at Kāśī’s holy spots yields puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Daṇḍakhāta and Jaigīṣavya-guhā in Kāśī, along with the liṅga famed by that association.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) immediately after a grahaṇa (eclipse).