Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

यत्फलं समवाप्नोति पितॄन्संतर्प्य पुष्करे । तत्फलं कोटिगुणितं ज्ञानतीर्थे तिलोदकैः

Transliteration

yatphalaṃ samavāpnoti pitṝnsaṃtarpya puṣkare | tatphalaṃ koṭiguṇitaṃ jñānatīrthe tilodakaiḥ

Translation

Welche Frucht man erlangt, wenn man in Puṣkara die Ahnen sättigt, dieselbe Frucht wird im Jñānatīrtha durch Darbringung von Sesamwasser (tilodaka) um ein Krorfaches vervielfacht.

Word by Word

• यत्: which
• यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम (relative)

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• समवाप्नोति: obtains fully
• समवाप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पितॄन्: the ancestors
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• संतर्प्य: having satisfied (them)
• संतर्प्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + तृप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Absolutive/Gerund), पूर्वक्रिया

• पुष्करे: at Puṣkara
• पुष्करे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; निर्देशक-सर्वनाम (correlative)

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Predicate complement/फल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कोटिगुणितम्: multiplied a crore-fold
• कोटिगुणितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोटि-गुणित (प्रातिपदिक; कोटि + गुणित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; ‘गुणित’ = √गुण्/गण्? (गुणयति) क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण

• ज्ञानतीर्थे: at Jñāna-tīrtha
• ज्ञानतीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; ज्ञान + तीर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः

• तिलोदकैः: with sesame-water offerings
• तिलोदकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल-उदक (प्रातिपदिक; तिल + उदक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (तिलयुक्तम् उदकम्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jñānatīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rṣi audience / internal questioner

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at Jñānatīrtha pours sesame-water (tilodaka) in a thin stream; in the distance, a faint mirage of Puṣkara lake appears, dwarfed by the radiance of Kāśī’s tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Puṣkara
• Jñānatīrtha
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Tila-udaka (sesame water)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s Jñānatīrtha is exalted as an unsurpassed place for pitṛ-satisfaction, where standard rites yield vastly amplified merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jñānatīrtha in Kāśī; Puṣkara is cited as a renowned comparator.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pitṛ-tarpaṇa using tila-udaka (sesame-mixed water).