Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

देवालयेषु ये दद्युर्बहुधारागलंतिकाः । तीर्थे वा करहर्तारस्तीर्थमार्गावनेजका

Transliteration

devālayeṣu ye dadyurbahudhārāgalaṃtikāḥ | tīrthe vā karahartārastīrthamārgāvanejakā

Translation

Those who, in temples, provide vessels that pour water in many streams, and those at tīrthas who remove refuse and cleanse the pilgrimage paths—these too are honored as servants of dharma.

Word by Word

• देवालयेषु: in temples
• देवालयेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवालय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/अधिकरण), बहुवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग; समासः—देव + आलय (तत्पुरुषः)

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग

• दद्युः: would give / may give
• दद्युः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• बहुधारागलंतिकाः: many-streamed dripping spouts (water-drippers)
• बहुधारागलंतिकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक) + धारा (प्रातिपदिक) + गलन्तिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन, स्त्रीलिङ्ग; समासः—बहुधारा (कर्मधारयः: ‘बह्वी धारा यस्याः’) + गलन्तिका (विशेष्य)

• तीर्थे: at a sacred ford/place of pilgrimage
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थ (or)

• करहर्तारः: tax-remitters/collectors (lit. takers of tax)
• करहर्तारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर (प्रातिपदिक) + हृ (धातु) + तृ (कृत्) → हर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग; समासः—कर + हर्तृ (तत्पुरुषः: ‘करं हरति’)

• तीर्थमार्गावनेजकाः: cleaners/washers of the pilgrimage roads
• तीर्थमार्गावनेजकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + अवनेजक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग; समासः—तीर्थमार्ग (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुषः) + अवनेजक (तत्पुरुषः: ‘मार्गं अवनेजति/शोधयति’)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (temple precincts and tīrtha-mārga)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a Kāśī temple courtyard, devotees set up a multi-spouted water vessel for ritual use; outside, volunteers sweep ghāṭa steps and clear refuse from the pilgrimage road.

Characters & Entities

• Devalaya (Temple)
• Tīrtha
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Maintaining sacred spaces—water provisions in temples and cleanliness at tīrthas—is itself a meritorious spiritual act.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrthas and temples within Kāśī’s sacred geography, emphasizing their upkeep as dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Providing multi-stream water-pouring vessels in temples and cleaning/refuse-removal on tīrtha paths.