Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

कियंत्यो न स्रवंत्योत्र रत्नाकर मुदावहाः । परं स्वर्गतरंगिण्याः काश्यां का साम्यमुद्वहेत्

Transliteration

kiyaṃtyo na sravaṃtyotra ratnākara mudāvahāḥ | paraṃ svargataraṃgiṇyāḥ kāśyāṃ kā sāmyamudvahet

Translation

Combien de rivières, dispensatrices de joie, coulent ici et gonflent l’océan ! Mais quel cours d’eau, à Kāśī, pourrait porter l’égalité avec celle dont les vagues sont célestes, la Gaṅgā ?

Word by Word

• kiyaṃtyaḥ: how many (feminine plural)
• kiyaṃtyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kiyat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• sravanti: flow
• sravanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sru (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• utra: here
• utra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: utra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: here)

• ratnākara: O Ratnākara (name; lit. mine of jewels)
• ratnākara: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ratna (प्रातिपदिक) + ākara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative/8th), एकवचन (Singular)

• mudāvahāḥ: bringing joy
• mudāvahāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mudā (प्रातिपदिक) + vah (धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); वह्-धातोः ण्वुल्/णिनि-प्रत्ययान्त (agentive: ‘bringing’)

• param: but, however
• param: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: param (अव्यय/विशेषण-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), अर्थे ‘but/indeed/however’ (वाक्योपपद)

• svargataraṃgiṇyāḥ: of the heaven-like river (lit. ‘heaven-waved one’)
• svargataraṃgiṇyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक) + taraṃgiṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• kāśyām: in Kāśī
• kāśyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• kā: what (which)
• kā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• sāmyam: equality, comparison
• sāmyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• udvahet: could bear/maintain (a comparison)
• udvahet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud + vah (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

Speaker

Agastya (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā in Kāśī (Gaṅgā-tīra/ghāṭa-samūha)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic Kāśī riverfront: multiple rivers symbolically flowing toward the ocean, yet Gaṅgā in Kāśī shines as a celestial, wave-crowned goddess-river; ghāṭas, lamps, and pilgrims emphasize her supremacy.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Gaṅgā
• Ratnākara (Ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Among all sacred waters, Gaṅgā’s presence in Kāśī is uniquely incomparable and supremely sanctifying.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā in Kāśī—Gaṅgā’s river-tīrtha within Vārāṇasī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the focus is comparative glorification of Gaṅgā as the supreme tīrtha-water in Kāśī.