Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

कामप्रदानि तीर्थानि त्रैलोक्ये यानि कानिचित् । तानि सर्वाणि सेवंते काश्यामुत्तरवाहिनीम्

Transliteration

kāmapradāni tīrthāni trailokye yāni kānicit | tāni sarvāṇi sevaṃte kāśyāmuttaravāhinīm

Translation

Whatever wish-fulfilling sacred fords exist in the three worlds—every one of them, as it were, resorts to and serves the Uttaravāhinī, the north-flowing Gaṅgā, in Kāśī.

Word by Word

• कामप्रदानि: wish-granting
• कामप्रदानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काम-प्रद (प्रातिपदिक; काम + प्रद)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (Neuter, Nominative plural; adjective)

• तीर्थानि: pilgrimage places
• तीर्थानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (Neuter, Nominative plural)

• त्रैलोक्ये: in the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रैलोक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (Neuter, Locative singular)

• यानि: which
• यानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-यत् (relative pronoun) (Neuter, Nominative plural)

• कानि: any
• कानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; प्रश्न/अनिश्चितार्थ (Neuter, Nominative plural; interrogative/indefinite)

• चित्: ever/at all
• चित्: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनिश्चितार्थ-निपात (indeclinable particle indicating indefiniteness)

• तानि: those
• तानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (Neuter, Nominative plural)

• सर्वाणि: all
• सर्वाणि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (Neuter, Nominative plural; adjective)

• सेवन्ते: serve/attend
• सेवन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सेव् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद (Present indicative, 3rd person plural, Ātmanepada)

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (Feminine, Locative singular)

• उत्तरवाहिनीम्: the north-flowing (river)
• उत्तरवाहिनीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तर-वाहिनी (प्रातिपदिक; उत्तर + वाहिनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (Feminine, Accusative singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Uttaravāhinī Gaṅgā (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Addressed to Hari/Viṣṇu within the discourse

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A personified Gaṅgā as a radiant goddess flowing northward at Kāśī, while emissaries/personifications of other tīrthas bow and offer service at her banks; ghats, lamps, and temples frame the river-bend.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Uttaravāhinī (Gaṅgā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s Uttaravāhinī Gaṅgā is portrayed as a supreme tirtha—so potent that other wish-granting holy places are figuratively subordinate to it.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Uttaravāhinī Gaṅgā in Kāśī (Varanasi).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is commanded here; the verse is a mahātmya statement elevating the tirtha’s status.