Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

यं श्रुत्वा यत्रकुत्रापि गंगास्नानफलं लभेत् । चक्रपुष्करिणीतीर्थं यदा गंगा समागता

Transliteration

yaṃ śrutvā yatrakutrāpi gaṃgāsnānaphalaṃ labhet | cakrapuṣkariṇītīrthaṃ yadā gaṃgā samāgatā

Translation

“Hearing of this—even from anywhere—one gains the merit of bathing in the Gaṅgā. (It concerns the time) when the Gaṅgā came to the sacred ford called Cakrapuṣkariṇī.”

Word by Word

• यम्: which; whom
• यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम; कर्म

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive); पूर्वकालिक-क्रिया (having heard)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Desha (Place/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• कुत्र: anywhere
• कुत्र: Desha (Place/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कुत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (interrogative/indefinite: anywhere)

• अपि: even; also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/समुच्चयार्थक (particle: even/also)

• गङ्गास्नानफलम्: the fruit of bathing in the Gaṅgā
• गङ्गास्नानफलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा-स्नान-फल (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (that which is obtained)

• लभेत्: would obtain
• लभेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• चक्रपुष्करिणीतीर्थम्: the Cakra-Puṣkariṇī sacred ford
• चक्रपुष्करिणीतीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्र-पुष्करिणी-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म/विषय

• यदा: when
• यदा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (when)

• गङ्गा: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्ता

• समागता: arrived; came
• समागता: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि/कर्तरि कृदन्तः (past participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (having) come/arrived

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cakrapuṣkariṇī-tīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni (unnamed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Gaṅgā personified as a radiant goddess arriving at a lotus-lined sacred pond/ford named Cakrapuṣkariṇī; pilgrims and sages witness; subtle Vishnu ‘chakra’ motif hinted in the water ripples or a nearby emblem.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Cakrapuṣkariṇī-tīrtha
• Gaṅgā-snānaphala

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śravaṇa (devout hearing) of a tīrtha-māhātmya can confer the same merit as direct pilgrimage acts like bathing in the Gaṅgā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Cakrapuṣkariṇī-tīrtha, associated with the Gaṅgā’s arrival.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Listening to the māhātmya; and implicitly Gaṅgā-snāna as the benchmark merit.