Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

उत्तरवाहिन्याः काश्या कुरुक्षेत्रादि वै तथा । गंगापुरीसमफलं कुण्डेऽत्र मुनिनोदितम्

Transliteration

uttaravāhinyāḥ kāśyā kurukṣetrādi vai tathā | gaṃgāpurīsamaphalaṃ kuṇḍe'tra muninoditam

Translation

Der Weise verkündet, dass das Verdienst an diesem kuṇḍa dem von Kāśī gleicht, wo der Fluss nach Norden strömt, ebenso dem von Kurukṣetra und dergleichen—ja, es ist dem Verdienst von Gaṅgāpurī gleich.

Word by Word

• उत्तरवाहिन्याः: of the north-flowing (river)
• उत्तरवाहिन्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तरवाहिनी (प्रातिपदिक; उत्तर + वाहिनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• काश्याः: of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• काश्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• कुरुक्षेत्र: Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्र: Sambandha (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुक्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक; कुरु + क्षेत्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; समासाङ्ग (compound member)

• आदि: and so on
• आदि: Sambandha/Avyaya (Etc.)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत्)
• Form: अव्यय; ‘आदि’ (etc.)—समुच्चयार्थक

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha/Avyaya (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/समुच्चयार्थक (thus/likewise)

• गंगापुरीसमफलम्: having merit equal to Gaṅgāpurī
• गंगापुरीसमफलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गंगापुरीसमफल (प्रातिपदिक; गंगा + पुरी + सम + फल)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कुण्डेऽत्र (कुण्डस्य) विशेषण; अर्थः ‘गंगापुरी-सदृश-फलद’

• कुण्डे: in/for the pond (kuṇḍa)
• कुण्डे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (here)

• मुनिना: by the sage
• मुनिना: Karana (Agent/कर्ता-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; कर्तृकरण/कर्ता (agent in passive sense)

• उदितम्: declared, stated
• उदितम्: Kriya (Predicative/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद् + वद्/उद् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (गंगापुरीसमफलम्) इत्यस्य विधेय/विशेषण; अर्थः ‘उक्तम्/प्रकाशितम्’

Speaker

Unknown (narrative voice quoting/attributing to a Muni)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya Kuṇḍa (Aśvinī-kuṇḍa complex)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage proclaims the kuṇḍa’s greatness; behind him appear symbolic visions of Uttaravāhinī Kāśī, Kurukṣetra, and Gaṅgāpurī—three sacred landscapes mirrored within the single pool.

Characters & Entities

• Kuṇḍa (Dharmāraṇya)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Uttaravāhinī Gaṅgā
• Kurukṣetra
• Gaṅgāpurī
• Muni

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic tīrtha-māhātmya teaches that divinely revealed local sites can confer merits equal to famed pan-Indian pilgrimage centers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A specific kuṇḍa in Dharmāraṇya is praised as bestowing merit equal to Kāśī (Uttaravāhinī), Kurukṣetra, and Gaṅgāpurī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implies tīrtha-benefit (phala) connected to the kuṇḍa—most directly realized through snāna and pilgrimage observance—though the act is not explicitly stated here.