Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

मयूखमालिनस्तीर्थं तदग्रे मलनाशनम् । तत्राप्लुतो गभस्तीशं विलोक्य विमलो भवेत्

Transliteration

mayūkhamālinastīrthaṃ tadagre malanāśanam | tatrāpluto gabhastīśaṃ vilokya vimalo bhavet

Translation

There is the tīrtha called Mayūkhamālin; in front of it lies another ford called Malanāśana, ‘Destroyer of impurity.’ Bathing there and beholding Gabhastīśa, one becomes stainless.

Word by Word

• mayūkhamālinaḥ: (the) ray-garlanded (Mayūkhamālin)
• mayūkhamālinaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mayūkha (प्रातिपदिक) + mālin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (singular); तत्पुरुष: मयूखानां मालिनः = garlanded with rays; विशेषण of tīrtham (name/epithet)

• tīrtham: sacred ford
• tīrtham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• tadagre: in front of it/nearby
• tadagre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + agre (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव: तद् + अग्रे = in front of it/near it; अव्यय-प्रयोग

• mala-nāśanam: destroyer of impurity
• mala-nāśanam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mala (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (singular); तत्पुरुष: मलस्य नाशनम् = remover of impurity; विशेषण (of tīrtham implied)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): there

• āplutaḥ: having bathed
• āplutaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā√plu (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle used actively), पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (singular); ‘having bathed/immersed’

• gabhastīśam: the lord of rays (the Sun)
• gabhastīśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gabhasti (प्रातिपदिक) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (singular); तत्पुरुष: गभस्तीनाम् ईशः = lord of rays (Sun)

• vilokya: having seen
• vilokya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vi√lok (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund): having seen

• vimalaḥ: pure
• vimalaḥ: Karta (Predicate/प्रथमा-समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vimala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (singular); विशेषण (predicate adjective)

• bhavet: would become
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mayūkhamālin / Malanāśana (paired)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant shrine of Gabhastīśa near a tīrtha; sunbeams (mayūkha) stream through trees/arches; devotees bathe at Malanāśana then walk with wet garments to the deity; the atmosphere is bright and purifying.

Characters & Entities

• Mayūkhamālin Tīrtha
• Malanāśana Tīrtha
• Gabhastīśa
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification is completed by both sacred bathing and darśana of the deity associated with the place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mayūkhamālin Tīrtha and the nearby Malanāśana Tīrtha in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathing at the tīrtha and then seeing (darśana of) Gabhastīśa.