Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । यातनास्वतितीव्रासु वाहीके संस्थिते तदा । तत्कालपुण्यफलदे गाङ्गेयांभसि निर्मले

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | yātanāsvatitīvrāsu vāhīke saṃsthite tadā | tatkālapuṇyaphalade gāṅgeyāṃbhasi nirmale

Translation

Īśvara said: When Vāhīka was enduring torments most severe, at that very moment there appeared the pure waters of the Gaṅgā, bestowing instantly the fruit of merit.

Word by Word

• ईश्वरः: Īśvara (Lord Śiva)
• ईश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• यातनासु: in torments
• यातनासु: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यातना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• अतितीव्रासु: very intense
• अतितीव्रासु: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतितीव्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying) यातनासु

• वाहीके: in/with Vāhīka (the man named Vāhīka)
• वाहीके: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाहीक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• संस्थिते: being situated/being in that state
• संस्थिते: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-स्था (धातु) + स्थित (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; वाहीके इति विशेष्ये सह

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• तत्कालपुण्यफलदे: in (the water) that gives the fruit of merit at that time
• तत्कालपुण्यफलदे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक) + पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक) + द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुष); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying) अम्भसि

• गाङ्गेय-अम्भसि: in the waters of the Gaṅgā
• गाङ्गेय-अम्भसि: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गाङ्गेय (प्रातिपदिक) + अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (कर्मधारय: गाङ्गेयम् अम्भः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• निर्मले: pure
• निर्मले: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying) अम्भसि

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Kāśī-Gaṅgā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (contextually) Skanda’s interlocutors in Kāśī narrative frame; immediately within the chapter’s dialogue stream

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tormented being in a dark, punitive realm is suddenly touched by a luminous stream of pure Gaṅgā water; the water radiates white-gold light, dissolving bonds and pain.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Īśvara)
• Gaṅgā
• Vāhīka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Gaṅgā is portrayed as immediately fruit-giving (tatkāla-phala), capable of transforming even states of intense suffering through her purifying power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā—especially as encountered in the Kāśī context of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa—where her waters are praised as uniquely purifying and merit-bestowing.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is commanded here, but the verse implies the salvific efficacy of contact with Gaṅgā’s pure water (snāna/sparśa/sevā in Gaṅgā).