Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

ते हन्यमाना न्यपतंस्तस्मिन्कुंडे नभोंगणात् । आयुःशेषेण संत्राता हंसीभूतास्तु वायसाः

Transliteration

te hanyamānā nyapataṃstasminkuṃḍe nabhoṃgaṇāt | āyuḥśeṣeṇa saṃtrātā haṃsībhūtāstu vāyasāḥ

Translation

Während sie geschlagen wurden, stürzten sie aus der Weite des Himmels in jenen heiligen Teich. Durch den Rest ihrer zugemessenen Lebenszeit gerettet, wurden jene Krähen wahrhaft zu Schwänen.

Word by Word

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• hanyamānāḥ: being attacked
• hanyamānāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: han (धातु) +्यमान (कृत्)
• Form: वर्तमानकर्मणि कृदन्त (present passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘being killed/struck’

• nyapatan: fell down
• nyapatan: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni + pat (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), प्रथमा-पुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘they fell down’

• tasmin: in that
• tasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• kuṇḍe: in the pond/pit
• kuṇḍe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• nabhaḥ-gaṇāt: from the host of the sky (from the air)
• nabhaḥ-gaṇāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nabhas + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; ‘नभसः गणः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; ablative singular

• āyuḥśeṣeṇa: by the remainder of life-span
• āyuḥśeṣeṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyus + śeṣa (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; ‘आयुषः शेषः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; instrumental singular

• saṃtrātāḥ: saved
• saṃtrātāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + trā (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘protected/saved’

• haṃsībhūtāḥ: having become (like) swans
• haṃsībhūtāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: haṃsī + bhūta (प्रातिपदिक; समास/कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त ‘bhūta’ (become), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘हंसी इव/हंसीरूपेण भूताः’ (having become like swans)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोधार्थक (particle)

• vāyasāḥ: crows
• vāyasāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī-khaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Haṃsatīrtha (kuṇḍa)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya is addressed in the surrounding verses (Kalaśodbhava)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Crows struck in midair plunge into a radiant pond; upon touching the water they emerge as white swans, wings spread, water droplets sparkling; the pond glows with sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Kuṇḍa
• Haṃsa (swan)
• Vāyasa (crow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contact with a powerful tīrtha can rapidly purify and elevate even fallen beings, symbolized by the crow’s transformation into a swan.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The kuṇḍa that becomes famed as Haṃsatīrtha, associated with Kṛttivāsa/Kṛttivāseśvara in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, entering/immersing in the tīrtha (snāna or contact with its waters) is presented as purificatory.