Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 67

Devanagari script

साधारणांभसा पूर्णां साधारण नदीमिव । पश्यंति नास्तिका गंगां पापोपहतलोचनाः

Transliteration

sādhāraṇāṃbhasā pūrṇāṃ sādhāraṇa nadīmiva | paśyaṃti nāstikā gaṃgāṃ pāpopahatalocanāḥ

Translation

Doch die Nāstika, deren Augen vom Sündenschlag getrübt sind, sehen die Gaṅgā, als wäre sie nur ein gewöhnlicher Fluss, gefüllt mit gewöhnlichem Wasser.

Word by Word

• साधारण: with ordinary/common
• साधारण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: साधारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (instrumental qualifier)

• अम्भसा: water
• अम्भसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• पूर्णाम्: filled, full
• पूर्णाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √पॄ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying नदीम्/गङ्गाम्)

• साधारणाम्: ordinary/common
• साधारणाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: साधारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying नदीम्)

• नदीम्: river
• नदीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• इव: like, as if
• इव: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्ययम् (particle of comparison)

• पश्यन्ति: see
• पश्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचन

• नास्तिकाः: atheists, unbelievers
• नास्तिकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नास्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• गङ्गाम्: Ganga
• गङ्गाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• पापोपहतलोचनाः: whose eyes are afflicted by sin
• पापोपहतलोचनाः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप-उपहत-लोचन (प्रातिपदिक; पाप + उपहत (√हन् + उप + क्त) + लोचन)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिवत् विशेषणम् (describing नास्तिकाः)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) at Kāśī

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (ṛṣi/śaunaka-style setting typical of Purāṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a Kāśī ghāṭa, the radiant Gaṅgā flows with a subtle divine aura; a few devotees bow with folded hands while a skeptical onlooker, eyes dimmed, sees only common water.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacredness is perceived through purity and faith; sin and denial reduce a divine tīrtha to something merely mundane.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā as a supreme tīrtha, especially as encountered within the Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse stresses inner qualification (purity/faith) for rightly perceiving the tīrtha.