Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

तत्र श्राद्धादिकं कृत्वा गयायां किं करिष्यति । स्नात्वा पिलिपिला तीर्थे कृत्वा वै पिंडपातनम्

Transliteration

tatra śrāddhādikaṃ kṛtvā gayāyāṃ kiṃ kariṣyati | snātvā pilipilā tīrthe kṛtvā vai piṃḍapātanam

Translation

Wenn man dort selbst Śrāddha und ähnliche Riten vollzogen hat, was wäre dann noch in Gayā zu tun? Denn nach dem Bad im Pilipilā-Tīrtha und der rechten Darbringung der Piṇḍas für die Ahnen ist die Pflicht erfüllt.

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb: there)

• śrāddha-ādikam: śrāddha and the like (rites)
• śrāddha-ādikam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक) + -ka (तद्धित)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (ādi-समासार्थ): श्राद्धं आदिः यस्य तत्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): having done

• gayāyām: in Gayā
• gayāyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gayā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (स्थाननाम), सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• kariṣyati: will do
• kariṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (simple future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): having bathed

• pilipilā: Pilipilā
• pilipilā: Sambandha (Name/नाम)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pilipilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (तीर्थनाम), प्रथमा/संबोधन-एकवचन (name used appositionally)

• tīrthe: at the tīrtha
• tīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): having done

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/निश्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• piṇḍa-pātanam: offering/dropping of funeral rice-balls
• piṇḍa-pātanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + pātana (प्रातिपदिक; √pat/पत् caus./noun)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: पिण्डस्य पातनम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pilipilā-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a Kāśī riverside platform near Pilipilā, a householder performs śrāddha: kuśa grass, water libations, sesame, and rice piṇḍas offered; faint ancestral figures appear satisfied in the background; a distant silhouette of Gayā fades, implying ‘no further need’.

Characters & Entities

• Pilipilā-tīrtha
• Gayā
• śrāddha
• piṇḍa-pātana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is depicted as a complete pilgrimage-field where even renowned external destinations are rendered unnecessary for certain rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Pilipilā-tīrtha in Kāśī, presented as sufficient for śrāddha and piṇḍa offerings traditionally associated with Gayā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha and piṇḍa-pātana after bathing (snāna) at Pilipilā-tīrtha.