Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

बाणतीर्थं च तस्यारात्तत्सहस्रभुजप्रदम् । तत्र स्नातो नरो भक्तिं प्राप्नुयाच्छांभवीं स्थिराम्

Transliteration

bāṇatīrthaṃ ca tasyārāttatsahasrabhujapradam | tatra snāto naro bhaktiṃ prāpnuyācchāṃbhavīṃ sthirām

Translation

Ganz nahe ist das Bāṇa-Tīrtha, das «tausend Arme» verleiht, das heißt außerordentliche Kraft und Befähigung. Wer dort badet, erlangt standhafte Hingabe an Śambhu (Śiva).

Word by Word

• bāṇa-tīrtham: the Bāṇa-tīrtha
• bāṇa-tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (bāṇasya tīrtham)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-निपात

• tasya: of it/of that (place)
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ārāt: nearby
• ārāt: Desha (Locative sense/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ārāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) — ‘near/at a short distance’

• tat-sahasra-bhuja-pradam: granting a thousand arms
• tat-sahasra-bhuja-pradam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + bhuja (प्रातिपदिक) + prada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; ‘सहस्रभुजं प्रददाति’ इति अर्थे (giver of thousand arms)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Desha (Location/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb) — ‘there’

• snātaḥ: having bathed
• snātaḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √snā (धातु) + ta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘having bathed’

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• bhaktim: devotion
• bhaktim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• prāpnuyāt: would attain
• prāpnuyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√āp (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śāṃbhavīm: Śāmbhavī (of Śambhu/Śiva)
• śāṃbhavīm: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śāṃbhavī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (bhaktim इति)

• sthirām: steady, firm
• sthirām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (bhaktim/śāṃbhavīm इति)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bāṇa Tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a riverside kund/ghat labeled Bāṇa Tīrtha, a pilgrim steps into the water; behind him a faint visionary form appears—an archetype of ‘thousand arms’ as radiating arm-like rays—yet the central icon is Śiva (liṅga or Śambhu’s presence) indicating devotion as the true fruit.

Characters & Entities

• Bāṇa Tīrtha
• Śambhu (Śiva)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True ‘power’ culminates in devotion—Kāśī’s tīrthas grant capability, but their highest gift is unwavering bhakti to Śiva.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bāṇa Tīrtha, a sacred bathing place near the previously mentioned tīrtha area in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) at Bāṇa Tīrtha to gain steadfast Śaiva devotion.