Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

परितः सरितः स्वच्छा भूतानां मानसैः सह

Transliteration

paritaḥ saritaḥ svacchā bhūtānāṃ mānasaiḥ saha

Translation

Ringsum wurden die Flüsse klar; und mit ihnen wurden auch die Geister der Wesen klar und still.

Word by Word

• परितः: around, on all sides
• परितः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परितस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्ग/क्रियाविशेषण (adverb/preposition): ‘around, on all sides’

• सरितः: rivers
• सरितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन

• स्वच्छाः: clear, pure
• स्वच्छाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमानाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वच्छ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘सरितः’)

• भूतानाम्: of beings
• भूतानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन

• मानसैः: with minds (mentally)
• मानसैः: Sahakāraka / Saha (Association/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental); बहुवचन

• सह: with, along with
• सह: Sahakāraka (Association/सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सहार्थक-निपात (particle of accompaniment)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Gaṅgā-sannidhi implied)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene Kāśī panorama: clear flowing waters encircling the kṣetra; pilgrims’ faces softened into calm, with a luminous stillness in the air.

Characters & Entities

• rivers

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Outer purity and inner purity mirror each other; when grace arises, nature and consciousness both become clear.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Kāśī setting is implied; this verse speaks generally of rivers rather than a named tīrtha like Gaṅgā-ghāṭa or specific kuṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the imagery supports tīrtha-snānā and inner cleansing as a Purāṇic ideal.