Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

अष्टादशसहस्राणि तथा पंचशतान्यपि । ब्राह्मणाः पंचपंचाशद्गंगातीरात्समागताः

Transliteration

aṣṭādaśasahasrāṇi tathā paṃcaśatānyapi | brāhmaṇāḥ paṃcapaṃcāśadgaṃgātīrātsamāgatāḥ

Translation

Achtzehntausend, dazu noch fünfhundert: Brāhmaṇas, in fünfundfünfzig Scharen, versammelten sich vom heiligen Ufer der Gaṅgā.

Word by Word

• aṣṭādaśa-sahasrāṇi: eighteen thousand (in number)
• aṣṭādaśa-sahasrāṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭādaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), बहुवचन; द्विगुसमासः (संख्यापूर्वकः)

• tathā: and also; likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अन्वयार्थक (adverb/conjunctive: 'also/and so')

• paṃca-śatāni: five hundred
• paṃca-śatāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃca (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), बहुवचन; द्विगुसमासः

• api: also; even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-कारक (particle: 'also/even')

• brāhmaṇāḥ: Brahmins
• brāhmaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Case 1), बहुवचन

• paṃca-paṃcāśat: fifty-five
• paṃca-paṃcāśat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃca (प्रातिपदिक) + paṃcāśat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (paṃcāśat), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः (55)

• gaṅgā-tīrāt: from the bank of the Ganga
• gaṅgā-tīrāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक) + tīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (tīra), पञ्चमी (Case 5/अपादान), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (gaṅgāyāḥ tīram)

• samāgatāḥ: having come; arrived
• samāgatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√gam (धातु)
• Form: भूतकालिक कृदन्त (क्त/क्तवतु-प्रत्यय; past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः (agreeing with brāhmaṇāḥ)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā-tīra (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast congregation of brāhmaṇas arriving in ordered groups along the Gaṅgā ghāṭas of Kāśī, the river shimmering behind them; the city’s temples and flags visible, conveying scale (18,500) and sacred bustle.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā-tīra
• Brāhmaṇas
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Gaṅgā-bank in Kāśī is depicted as a powerful spiritual corridor where communal devotion flourishes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā-tīra (the sacred riverbank/ghāṭa region of Kāśī) as a tīrtha-source for pilgrims.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse emphasizes assembly from the Gaṅgā’s tīrtha.