Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

तदा प्रभृति तत्तीर्थं धर्मांधुरिति विश्रुतम् । ब्रह्महत्यादि पापानामक्लेशं क्षालनं परम्

Transliteration

tadā prabhṛti tattīrthaṃ dharmāṃdhuriti viśrutam | brahmahatyādi pāpānāmakleśaṃ kṣālanaṃ param

Translation

From that time onward, that tīrtha became renowned as “Dharmāṃdhu.” It is the supreme purifier that washes away, without hardship, sins such as brahmahatyā and the like.

Word by Word

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: “then”)

• प्रभृति: from (that time)
• प्रभृति: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रभृति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भार्थक (from, starting from)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter nom./acc. sg.)

• तीर्थम्: pilgrimage-place
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter nom./acc. sg.)

• धर्मांधुः: (named) Dharmāndhu
• धर्मांधुः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + अन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (masc. nom. sg.); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (धर्मस्य अन्धुः)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/इत्यादि-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• विश्रुतम्: renowned
• विश्रुतम्: Karma (Object complement/कर्मपूरक)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + श्रु (धातु) → विश्रुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter nom./acc. sg.); “renowned/known”

• ब्रह्महत्यादि: such as brahmahatyā
• ब्रह्महत्यादि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः—तत्पुरुष (आदि-समास; “beginning with brahmahatyā”); अव्ययवत्-प्रयोगः (indeclinable-like as a compound qualifier)

• पापानाम्: of sins
• पापानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन (neuter gen. pl.)

• अक्लेशम्: without hardship
• अक्लेशम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + क्लेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter nom./acc. sg.)

• क्षालनम्: washing away
• क्षालनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षल् (धातु) → क्षालन (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भाववाचक-नाम (ल्युट्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter nom./acc. sg.)

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter nom./acc. sg.)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāṃdhu

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages at Naimiṣāraṇya (frame; not explicit here)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim descends stone steps into the Gaṅgā at a Kāśī ford named Dharmāṃdhu; the water is shown as luminous, washing away dark, smoke-like ‘sins’ that dissolve without struggle; priests hold lotuses and waterpots; distant spires of Kāśī temples silhouette the dawn.

Characters & Entities

• Dharmāṃdhu (tīrtha)
• Brahmahatyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s tīrthas are portrayed as exceptionally compassionate: sincere contact with them purifies even heavy karmic burdens.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāṃdhu, a famed tīrtha in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Purificatory bathing/approach to the tīrtha (implied as the means of ‘washing away’ sins).