Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

सर्वषामेव पात्राणां शिवभक्तो यथा वरः । तथा सर्वेषु तीर्थेषु गंगातीर्थं विशिष्यते

Transliteration

sarvaṣāmeva pātrāṇāṃ śivabhakto yathā varaḥ | tathā sarveṣu tīrtheṣu gaṃgātīrthaṃ viśiṣyate

Translation

Wie ein Verehrer Śivas der Beste unter allen würdigen Empfängern ist, so zeichnet sich unter allen Tīrthas das Gaṅgā-Tīrtha als das höchste aus.

Word by Word

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• pātrāṇām: of recipients/vessels
• pātrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन

• śiva-bhaktaḥ: a devotee of Śiva
• śiva-bhaktaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakta (कृदन्त; √bhaj सेवायाम्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ('devotee of Śiva')

• yathā: as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक

• varaḥ: excellent/best
• varaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; विशेषणम् (predicate adjective: 'excellent')

• tathā: so/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Correlative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तद्वत्-प्रकारवाचक (correlative: 'so/likewise')

• sarveṣu: among/in all
• sarveṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• tīrtheṣu: in pilgrimage places
• tīrtheṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); बहुवचन

• gaṃgā-tīrtham: the Gaṅgā-tīrtha
• gaṃgā-tīrtham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṃgā (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd; Nominative/Accusative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ('tīrtha of Gaṅgā')

• viśiṣyate: excels/is distinguished
• viśiṣyate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śiṣ (शिष्) विशिष्टे (to excel)
• Form: लट् (Present); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd); एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā-tīrtha (in Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Interlocutor of the Kāśī-māhātmya discourse

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotional scene at a Kāśī ghāṭa: a Śiva-bhakta receiving offerings (symbol of best pātra) while the Gaṅgā flows majestically, crowned as queen of tīrthas; distant spires of Viśveśvara and ghāṭa steps frame the proclamation.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva-bhakti is exalted as the highest spiritual worth, and the Gaṅgā is exalted as the foremost tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā-tīrtha—especially in Kāśī—explicitly declared superior among all tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly supports dāna and tīrtha-sevā: recognizing the best ‘pātra’ (Śiva-bhakta) and the best tīrtha (Gaṅgā) for dharmic acts.