Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

अब्दं यः स्नाति गंगायां नैरंतर्येण पुण्यभाक् । विष्णोर्लोकं समासाद्य स सुखं संवसेन्नरः

Transliteration

abdaṃ yaḥ snāti gaṃgāyāṃ nairaṃtaryeṇa puṇyabhāk | viṣṇorlokaṃ samāsādya sa sukhaṃ saṃvasennaraḥ

Translation

Quiconque se baigne dans la Gaṅgā sans interruption durant une année entière devient dépositaire d’un grand mérite ; parvenu au monde de Viṣṇu, il y demeure dans la félicité.

Word by Word

• अब्दम्: a year
• अब्दम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अब्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• स्नाति: bathes
• स्नाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (Present Indicative, 3rd person, Singular)

• गङ्गायाम्: in the Ganga
• गङ्गायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन (Feminine, Locative, Singular)

• नैरन्तर्येण: with continuity, without break
• नैरन्तर्येण: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैरन्तर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन (Neuter, Instrumental, Singular)

• पुण्यभाक्: possessing merit
• पुण्यभाक्: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य + भज् (धातु) (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘भाक्’ = भज्-धातोः क्विप्-प्रत्ययान्त (Masculine, Nominative, Singular; ‘partaker/possessor of merit’)

• विष्णोः: of Vishnu
• विष्णोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Genitive, Singular)

• लोकम्: world, realm
• लोकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Singular)

• समासाद्य: having reached
• समासाद्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√सद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive); ‘having reached’

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• सुखम्: happily
• सुखम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (क्रियाविशेषणवत्), एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative used adverbially, Singular)

• संवसेत्: would dwell
• संवसेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√वस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (Optative, 3rd person, Singular)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśī-khaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Jāhnavī/Bhāgīrathī) in Kāśī

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee performs daily dawn bathing at a Kāśī ghat for a full year; Gaṅgā is personified as a radiant goddess; in the upper register, Viṣṇu’s loka is hinted as a luminous Vaikuṇṭha realm welcoming the devotee.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady, uninterrupted sacred practice (daily Gaṅgā-bathing) is praised as a powerful means to accumulate puṇya and attain a higher divine abode.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā—especially as experienced in the Kāśī region within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Continuous bathing (snāna) in the Gaṅgā for a full year (abda) without break (nairantarya).