Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 250

Devanagari script

पठितव्यः प्रयत्नेन बिंदुमाधवसंभवः । श्रोतव्यः परया भक्त्या भुक्तिमुक्तिसमृद्धये

Transliteration

paṭhitavyaḥ prayatnena biṃdumādhavasaṃbhavaḥ | śrotavyaḥ parayā bhaktyā bhuktimuktisamṛddhaye

Translation

Diese mit Bindumādhava verbundene Erzählung soll mit Eifer gelesen und mit höchster Hingabe gehört werden, damit sowohl weltliche Erfüllung als auch Befreiung erblühen.

Word by Word

• पठितव्यः: to be recited
• पठितव्यः: Vidheyavisheshaṇa (Predicate adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पठ् (धातु) + तव्यत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive/भाव्य), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘to be read/should be recited’

• प्रयत्नेन: with effort
• प्रयत्नेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रयत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• बिंदुमाधवसंभवः: the (stotra/text) connected with Bindumādhava
• बिंदुमाधवसंभवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बिंदु-माधव-सम्भव (प्रातिपदिक; बिंदु + माधव + सम्भव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (बिंदुमाधवस्य सम्भवः = origin/manifestation connected with Bindumādhava)

• श्रोतव्यः: to be listened to
• श्रोतव्यः: Vidheyavisheshaṇa (Predicate adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रु (धातु) + तव्यत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘to be heard/should be listened to’

• परया: with supreme
• परया: Visheshaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (intense/supreme)

• भक्त्या: devotion
• भक्त्या: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• भुक्तिमुक्तिसमृद्धये: for the attainment of worldly enjoyment and liberation
• भुक्तिमुक्तिसमृद्धये: Sampradāna (Purpose/Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुक्ति-मुक्ति-समृद्धि (प्रातिपदिक; भुक्ति + मुक्ति + समृद्धि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व-पूर्वपदक तत्पुरुषः (भुक्तिश्च मुक्तिश्च तयोः समृद्धिः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda teaching Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bindumādhava (Kāśī)

Type: temple

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A small assembly at a Kāśī ghat or temple courtyard: a reciter reads the Bindumādhava account from a palm-leaf manuscript; listeners sit with folded hands; the shrine of Nārāyaṇa glows in the background, symbolizing bhukti and mukti as twin streams.

Characters & Entities

• Bindumādhava
• Bhakti
• Bhukti
• Mukti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional engagement with sacred narratives—recitation and listening—yields both worldly welfare (bhukti) and ultimate freedom (mukti).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bindumādhava (a celebrated Viṣṇu presence in Kāśī), indicated as the source/theme of the passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pāṭha (reading/recitation) and śravaṇa (hearing) with sincere devotion.