Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

निर्दग्धान्सागराञ्छ्रुत्वा कपिलक्रोधवह्निना । अश्वमेधाश्वसंयुक्तान्पूर्वजान्स्वान्भगीरथः

Transliteration

nirdagdhānsāgarāñchrutvā kapilakrodhavahninā | aśvamedhāśvasaṃyuktānpūrvajānsvānbhagīrathaḥ

Translation

Apprenant que ses propres ancêtres—les Sāgaras, associés au cheval de l’Aśvamedha—avaient été réduits en cendres par le feu de la colère de Kapila, Bhagīratha se voua à leur délivrance.

Word by Word

• निर्दग्धान्: burnt up
• निर्दग्धान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि- दह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• सागरान्: the sons of Sagara / Sagaras
• सागरान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव

• कपिलक्रोधवह्निना: by the fire of Kapila’s wrath
• कपिलक्रोधवह्निना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपिल + क्रोध + वह्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• अश्वमेधाश्वसंयुक्तान्: connected with the Aśvamedha horse
• अश्वमेधाश्वसंयुक्तान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अश्वमेध + अश्व + संयुक्त (प्रातिपदिक; √युज्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• पूर्वजान्: ancestors, forefathers
• पूर्वजान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्वज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन

• स्वान्: his own
• स्वान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (स्वकीय)

• भगीरथः: Bhagīratha
• भगीरथः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगीरथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (continuing speech in Adhyāya 27 context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Tri-path river) as the implied remedy; antecedent episode at Kapila-āśrama

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Viṣṇu

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bhagīratha hears the grievous news: his ancestors, the Sāgaras, burned by Kapila’s wrathful fire while connected to the Aśvamedha horse; the moment crystallizes into a vow of deliverance.

Characters & Entities

• Bhagīratha
• Sāgaras
• Kapila
• Aśvamedha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral responsibility and dharma motivate Bhagīratha’s famed effort, setting the stage for Gaṅgā’s salvific role.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single Kāśī site is named in this verse; it introduces the Bhagīratha–Gaṅgā episode that underlies Gaṅgā’s sanctity (central to Kāśī).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references the Aśvamedha context; no direct prescription is given in this verse.