Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

हंस स्वरूपी यत्राहं नयामि ब्रह्मदेहिनः

Transliteration

haṃsa svarūpī yatrāhaṃ nayāmi brahmadehinaḥ

Translation

Dort führe ich, in der Gestalt des Haṃsa, die im Brahman verkörperten Brahman-Erkennenden weiter voran.

Word by Word

• हंस: a swan; Haṃsa
• हंस: विशेष्य (predicate-noun base)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हंस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• स्वरूपी: having the form (of a swan)
• स्वरूपी: कर्तृविशेषण (qualifier of ‘aham’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वरूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (one whose form is …)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: अधिकरण (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• नयामि: I lead
• नयामि: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नी (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present indicative), परस्मैपद; उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• ब्रह्मदेहिनः: those embodied as Brahman (brahma-bodied beings)
• ब्रह्मदेहिनः: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म + देहिन् (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास; पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from continuous narration in Kāśī-khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Haṃsa Tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sage/assembly in Kāśī-māhātmya frame (not specified)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous white Haṃsa (divine) hovers above the tīrtha waters, guiding serene ascetics with matted hair and calm faces; a subtle path of light leads away from Kāśī’s ghāṭas toward a radiant horizon.

Characters & Entities

• Haṃsa (swan form)
• Brahma-dehinaḥ (Brahman-abiding beings)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha is portrayed as a place of inner awakening where the divine guides seekers established in Brahman.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Contextually, Haṃsa Tīrtha (introduced in the preceding verse) is being further praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; the emphasis is on divine guidance and the Haṃsa form associated with the tīrtha.