Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

एकदा स हि हेमंते मार्गे मासि तपोधनः । स्नात्वा तत्र महातीर्थे मध्याह्ने विमलोदके

Transliteration

ekadā sa hi hemaṃte mārge māsi tapodhanaḥ | snātvā tatra mahātīrthe madhyāhne vimalodake

Translation

Einst, in der Winterzeit, im Monat Mārga (Mārgaśīrṣa), badete jener an Tapas reiche Asket dort am großen Tīrtha zur Mittagsstunde im reinen Vimalodaka.

Word by Word

• एकदा: once
• एकदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एकदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (once)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• हेमन्ते: in winter
• हेमन्ते: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेमन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मार्गे: on the path
• मार्गे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मासि: in the month
• मासि: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तपोधनः: one rich in austerity (ascetic)
• तपोधनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् + धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (तपः धनं यस्य सः)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya-vishesana (Prior action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु) → स्नात्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया (having bathed)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• महातीर्थे: at the great sacred ford
• महातीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (महच्च तत् तीर्थम्)

• मध्याह्ने: at midday
• मध्याह्ने: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्याह्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• विमलोदके: in the clear water
• विमलोदके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विमल + उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (विमलं उदकं यस्मिन्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahātīrtha in Kāśī (unspecified in verse)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (Kumbhayoni)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Winter midday at a Kāśī tīrtha: clear, cool water; the ascetic Vālmīki steps into the river/ford under pale sun, with ghāṭ steps, distant temples, and pilgrims in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Vālmīki
• Mārgaśīrṣa (Mārga month)
• Mahātīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity of place, time, and intention—especially bathing at a tīrtha—supports spiritual discipline and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A “mahātīrtha” is mentioned without a specific name in this verse; within Kāśī-khaṇḍa it points to the sacred tīrthas of Kāśī’s landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) at midday in a tīrtha, especially during the Mārgaśīrṣa/winter period.