Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

पापपांसुमहावात्या पापद्रुमकुठारिका । पापेंधनदवाग्निश्च गंगेयं पुण्यवाहिनी

Transliteration

pāpapāṃsumahāvātyā pāpadrumakuṭhārikā | pāpeṃdhanadavāgniśca gaṃgeyaṃ puṇyavāhinī

Translation

This Gaṅgā, the bearer of merit, is a mighty whirlwind scattering the dust of sin; an axe felling the trees of sin; and a forest-fire consuming the fuel of sin.

Word by Word

• pāpa-pāṃsu-mahā-vātyā: a great whirlwind of sinful dust
• pāpa-pāṃsu-mahā-vātyā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + pāṃsu (प्रातिपदिक) + mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + vātyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; बहुपद-कर्मधारयः ('great whirlwind of sinful dust')

• pāpa-druma-kuṭhārikā: an axe to the tree of sin
• pāpa-druma-kuṭhārikā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + druma (प्रातिपदिक) + kuṭhārikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ('axe for the tree of sin')

• pāpa-indhana-dava-agniḥ: a forest-fire fueled by sin
• pāpa-indhana-dava-agniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + indhana (प्रातिपदिक) + dava (प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः ('forest-fire fed by the fuel of sin')

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• gaṅgā: Gaṅgā
• gaṅgā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• iyam: this
• iyam: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• puṇya-vāhinī: merit-bearing
• puṇya-vāhinī: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + vāhinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ('carrier of merit')

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Kāśī Gaṅgā-tīrtha)

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Interlocutor of the Kāśī discourse

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gaṅgā as a living cosmic force: a roaring yet auspicious river-wind scattering dark ‘sin-dust’, a divine axe cleaving a forest of thorny trees labeled pāpa, and a controlled sacred wildfire consuming blackened fuel—while pilgrims bathe on ghāṭa steps under temple silhouettes.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Gaṅgā is celebrated as a potent purifier whose sanctity destroys accumulated sin and generates puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā itself as a supreme tīrtha—implicitly the Gaṅgā in the Kāśī region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is named; the verse supports tīrtha-sevā such as snāna and reverent approach as means to sin-destruction.