Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110

Devanagari script

महापापांधतमसं किरणाख्या तरंगिणी । ध्वंसयेत्स्नानमात्रेण मिलिता धूतपापया

Transliteration

mahāpāpāṃdhatamasaṃ kiraṇākhyā taraṃgiṇī | dhvaṃsayetsnānamātreṇa militā dhūtapāpayā

Translation

Der wellenreiche Strom namens Kiraṇā, mit Dhūtapāpā vereint, vernichtet durch bloßes Baden die blinde Finsternis großer Sünden.

Word by Word

• महापापान्धतमसम्: the blind darkness of great sin
• महापापान्धतमसम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-पाप-अन्ध-तमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः (महापापरूपम् अन्धतमः)

• किरणाख्या: named ‘Kiraṇā’
• किरणाख्या: Karta (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: किरण-आख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘किरण’ इति आख्या यस्याः (named ‘Kiraṇā’)

• तरङ्गिणी: the river (wave-bearing one)
• तरङ्गिणी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तरङ्गिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ध्वंसयेत्: would destroy
• ध्वंसयेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ध्वंस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्/लिङ्-लकार (optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• स्नानमात्रेण: by mere bathing
• स्नानमात्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान-मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; ‘स्नानस्य मात्रेण’

• मिलिता: being associated (with)
• मिलिता: Karta (Predicate adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मिलित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (joined/associated)

• धूतपापया: with Dhūtapāpā (the sin-removing one)
• धूतपापया: Sahakari/Instrument (सह/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धूतपापा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (सह/करण), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (धूतानि पापानि यस्याः)

Speaker

Skanda (narrative continuation; specific speaker not marked in this verse snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kiraṇā–Dhūtapāpā Sangama

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer (traditional frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two streams meet—Kiraṇā, sparkling like sun-rays on water, and Dhūtapāpā, deep and purifying; pilgrims bathe as the ‘darkness’ of sin is shown as a shadow dissolving into light.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Kiraṇā (stream)
• Dhūtapāpā (tīrtha/stream)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In a true tīrtha, purity is not merely symbolic—divine geography supports inner transformation and the removal of deep moral darkness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The confluence/association of the Kiraṇā stream with Dhūtapāpā in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing): bathing alone is said to grant pāpa-kṣaya (destruction of sins).