Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

तदा भगीरथो राजा क्व क्व भागीरथी तदा । यदा विष्णुस्तपस्तेपे चक्रपुष्करिणी तटे

Transliteration

tadā bhagīratho rājā kva kva bhāgīrathī tadā | yadā viṣṇustapastepe cakrapuṣkariṇī taṭe

Translation

Où se trouvait alors le roi Bhagīratha, et où était en ce temps la Bhāgīrathī (Gaṅgā), lorsque Viṣṇu accomplit des austérités sur la rive de la Cakra-puṣkariṇī ?

Word by Word

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kriya-vishesana (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (then)

• bhagīrathaḥ: Bhagiratha
• bhagīrathaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagīratha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• rājā: king
• rājā: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• kva: where?
• kva: Kriya-vishesana (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक देशवाचक अव्यय (where?)

• kva: where (again)
• kva: Kriya-vishesana (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरुक्ति (emphatic)

• bhāgīrathī: Bhagirathi (Ganga)
• bhāgīrathī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāgīrathī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kriya-vishesana (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय

• yadā: when
• yadā: Sambandha (Temporal clause marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक सम्बन्धबोधक अव्यय (when)

• viṣṇuḥ: Vishnu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन

• tepe: performed (austerity)
• tepe: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tap (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• cakra: wheel/discus
• cakra: Sambandha (Qualifier within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, समासाङ्ग (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषपूर्वपद)

• puṣkariṇī: the lotus-pond (named Cakrapuṣkariṇī)
• puṣkariṇī: Adhikarana (Location name)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣkariṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (cakrapuṣkariṇī)

• taṭe: on the bank
• taṭe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन

Speaker

Umā (continuing inquiry, inferred from immediate context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cakra-puṣkariṇī

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śiva

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred lotus-filled tank named Cakra-puṣkariṇī; Viṣṇu sits in austerity on its bank, radiant yet ascetic; in the distance, Bhagīratha and the flowing Bhāgīrathī are hinted as a temporal question—like a layered narrative map.

Characters & Entities

• Bhagīratha
• Bhāgīrathī (Gaṅgā)
• Viṣṇu
• Cakra-puṣkariṇī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred history is tied to sacred geography: events, persons, and rivers are mapped onto tīrthas to intensify pilgrimage faith.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Cakra-puṣkariṇī is explicitly named as a sacred waterbody associated with Viṣṇu’s tapas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it asks for historical-location clarification that supports tīrtha-māhātmya.