Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

सर्वषामेव पात्राणां शिवभक्तो यथा वरः । तथा सर्वेषु तीर्थेषु गंगातीर्थं विशिष्यते

Transliteration

sarvaṣāmeva pātrāṇāṃ śivabhakto yathā varaḥ | tathā sarveṣu tīrtheṣu gaṃgātīrthaṃ viśiṣyate

Translation

De même qu’un dévot de Śiva est le meilleur parmi tous les réceptacles dignes, de même, parmi tous les tīrthas, le tīrtha de la Gaṅgā se distingue comme le suprême.

Word by Word

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• pātrāṇām: of recipients/vessels
• pātrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन

• śiva-bhaktaḥ: a devotee of Śiva
• śiva-bhaktaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakta (कृदन्त; √bhaj सेवायाम्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ('devotee of Śiva')

• yathā: as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक

• varaḥ: excellent/best
• varaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; विशेषणम् (predicate adjective: 'excellent')

• tathā: so/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Correlative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तद्वत्-प्रकारवाचक (correlative: 'so/likewise')

• sarveṣu: among/in all
• sarveṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• tīrtheṣu: in pilgrimage places
• tīrtheṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); बहुवचन

• gaṃgā-tīrtham: the Gaṅgā-tīrtha
• gaṃgā-tīrtham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṃgā (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd; Nominative/Accusative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ('tīrtha of Gaṅgā')

• viśiṣyate: excels/is distinguished
• viśiṣyate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śiṣ (शिष्) विशिष्टे (to excel)
• Form: लट् (Present); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd); एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā-tīrtha (in Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Interlocutor of the Kāśī-māhātmya discourse

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotional scene at a Kāśī ghāṭa: a Śiva-bhakta receiving offerings (symbol of best pātra) while the Gaṅgā flows majestically, crowned as queen of tīrthas; distant spires of Viśveśvara and ghāṭa steps frame the proclamation.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva-bhakti is exalted as the highest spiritual worth, and the Gaṅgā is exalted as the foremost tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā-tīrtha—especially in Kāśī—explicitly declared superior among all tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly supports dāna and tīrtha-sevā: recognizing the best ‘pātra’ (Śiva-bhakta) and the best tīrtha (Gaṅgā) for dharmic acts.