Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

अस्मासु वीक्षमाणेषु काकाः कुंडेत्र ये पतन् । धार्तराष्ट्रास्तु ते जातास्तीर्थस्यास्य प्रभावतः

Transliteration

asmāsu vīkṣamāṇeṣu kākāḥ kuṃḍetra ye patan | dhārtarāṣṭrāstu te jātāstīrthasyāsya prabhāvataḥ

Translation

Während wir zusahen, wurden die Krähen, die in diesen Teich fielen, durch die machtvolle Kraft dieses Tīrtha zu Dhārtarāṣṭras, königlichen Schwänen.

Word by Word

• asmāsu: while we (were present)
• asmāsu: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), बहुवचन; ‘in/among us’

• vīkṣamāṇeṣu: as (we) were watching
• vīkṣamāṇeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Circumstance/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vīkṣ (धातु) + māna (कृत्)
• Form: वर्तमानकर्तरि कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन; ‘while (we) were watching’

• kākāḥ: crows
• kākāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

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

• atra: here
• atra: Deśa-viśeṣaṇa (Locative adverb/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

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

• dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ: Dhārtarāṣṭras (a class/name)
• dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhārtarāṣṭra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; जातिवाचक/नाम

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

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

• jātāḥ: became
• jātāḥ: Kriyā (Result state/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jan (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘became/were born’

• tīrthasya: of the sacred ford
• tīrthasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• asya: of this
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘of this’

• prabhāvataḥ: due to the power
• prabhāvataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रायः; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) ‘-तः’; ‘because of/due to’

Speaker

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

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Haṃsatīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Other pilgrims/onlookers; ultimately Agastya and the sage-audience via narration

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims as narrating witnesses; in the pond, newly transformed royal swans (Dhārtarāṣṭras) glide majestically where crows had fallen moments before; the pond radiates sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha
• Kuṇḍa
• Kāka (crow)
• Dhārtarāṣṭra (swan)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha is not merely water or geography; it is a field of grace that transforms impurity into purity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Haṃsatīrtha (the kuṇḍa where the transformation occurs), in Kāśī near Kṛttivāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, taking refuge in/entering the tīrtha (especially through snāna) is extolled as transformative.