Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

गंगायमुनयोः संगे यत्पुण्यं स्नानकारिणाम् । काश्यां मत्सन्निधावत्र तत्पुण्यं स्याद्दशोत्तरम्

Transliteration

gaṃgāyamunayoḥ saṃge yatpuṇyaṃ snānakāriṇām | kāśyāṃ matsannidhāvatra tatpuṇyaṃ syāddaśottaram

Translation

Welches Verdienst auch immer den Badenden am Zusammenfluss von Gaṅgā und Yamunā zufällt, eben dieses Verdienst wird hier in Kāśī, in meiner unmittelbaren Gegenwart, um das Zehnfache größer.

Word by Word

• गङ्गा-यमुनयोः: of (the rivers) Ganga and Yamuna
• गङ्गा-यमुनयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + यमुना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), द्विवचन; द्वन्द्वसमास (समाहार/इतरेतर) — “of Ganga and Yamuna”

• सङ्गे: at the confluence
• सङ्गे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — locative “at the confluence/meeting”

• यत्: which
• यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — relative pronoun qualifying ‘पुण्यम्’

• पुण्यम्: merit
• पुण्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — “merit”

• स्नान-कारिणाम्: of bathers / of those who bathe
• स्नान-कारिणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक) + कृ (धातु) → कारिन् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष — “of those who perform bathing”

• काश्याम्: in Kashi
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — “in Kashi”

• मत्-सन्निधौ: in my presence
• मत्-सन्निधौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत् (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक, षष्ठी-एकवचन-रूप ‘my’) + सन्निधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष — “in my presence”

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Desha-adhikarana (Locative adverbial/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — demonstrative qualifying ‘पुण्यम्’

• पुण्यम्: merit
• पुण्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• स्यात्: would be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — “would be/should be”

• दश-उत्तरम्: ten times greater
• दश-उत्तरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (संख्यापूर्वपद) — “tenfold more / exceeding by ten” (qualifies ‘पुण्यम्’)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī) Gaṅgā-tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Tīrtha-seeking interlocutor (traditionally ṛṣi/Skanda-Purāṇa frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim performs snāna at a Kāśī ghāṭ; above, Śiva’s subtle presence (liṅga aura or seated Śiva) indicates ‘mat-sannidhi’; in the distance a symbolic Prayāga-saṅgama is shown as a smaller vignette, emphasizing Kāśī’s tenfold merit.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Yamunā
• Prayāga (implied confluence)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text elevates Kāśī’s sanctity by declaring its rites to surpass even the famed saṅgama merits.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī itself as a tīrtha in the deity’s immediate presence, contrasted with the Gaṅgā–Yamunā confluence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) performed in Kāśī with awareness of the deity’s sannidhi (presence).