Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

वृषभध्वजतीर्थं च तीर्थं पैतामहं ततः । ततो गदाधराख्यं च पितृतीर्थं ततः परम्

Transliteration

vṛṣabhadhvajatīrthaṃ ca tīrthaṃ paitāmahaṃ tataḥ | tato gadādharākhyaṃ ca pitṛtīrthaṃ tataḥ param

Translation

It is also called ‘Vṛṣabhadhvaja-tīrtha’ (the ford of Śiva, whose banner bears the bull), and then ‘Paitāmaha-tīrtha’ (the grandsire’s holy ford). Next it is known as ‘Gadādhara’ (the mace-bearer), and beyond that as the supreme ‘Pitṛ-tīrtha’—the tīrtha for the Ancestors.

Word by Word

• वृषभध्वजतीर्थम्: ‘Vṛṣabhadhvaja-tīrtha’ (tīrtha of the bull-bannered Lord)
• वृषभध्वजतीर्थम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha-dhvaja-tīrtha (वृषभ + ध्वज + तीर्थ; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular); नाम (proper name)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• तीर्थम्: the tīrtha
• तीर्थम्: Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पैतामहम्: ancestral; of the Pitāmaha
• पैतामहम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण of ‘tīrtham’

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रम/अनन्तरार्थक

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रम/अनन्तरार्थक

• गदाधराख्यम्: ‘Gadādhara-ākhya’ (named Gadādhara)
• गदाधराख्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gadā-dhara-ākhya (गदा + धर + आख्य; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नाम (proper name)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयार्थक

• पितृतीर्थम्: ‘Pitṛtīrtha’ (tīrtha of the ancestors)
• पितृतीर्थम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ-tīrtha (पितृ + तीर्थ; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नाम (proper name)

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रम/अनन्तरार्थक

• परम्: next; further
• परम्: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (adverbial: ‘further/next’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vṛṣabhadhvaja-tīrtha / Paitāmaha-tīrtha / Gadādhara-tīrtha / Pitṛ-tīrtha (as epithets of the same site)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A single sacred tank symbolically bearing emblems: Śiva’s bull-banner, Viṣṇu with mace, and offerings for ancestors (tilodaka, piṇḍa) at the water’s edge; the narrator lists names like a litany.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Vṛṣabhadhvaja)
• Pitāmaha
• Gadādhara
• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sacred geography unites Śaiva devotion with ancestral rites, showing harmony between deity-worship and Pitṛ-dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same Kāśī tīrtha is praised under names linked to Śiva (Vṛṣabhadhvaja) and to Pitṛ rites (Pitṛtīrtha).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse is nominative (name-giving); it implies suitability for Pitṛ-related acts, but no detailed procedure is stated here.