Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

तीर्थयात्रां प्रतिदिनं कुर्वन्नूनं सवत्सरम् । न प्राप सर्वतीर्थानि तीर्थं काश्यां तिलेतिले

Transliteration

tīrthayātrāṃ pratidinaṃ kurvannūnaṃ savatsaram | na prāpa sarvatīrthāni tīrthaṃ kāśyāṃ tiletile

Translation

Quand bien même l’on ferait chaque jour un pèlerinage aux tīrtha durant une année entière, on n’atteindrait pas tous les tīrtha ; car à Kāśī, un tīrtha se trouve à chaque grain, à chaque parcelle.

Word by Word

• तीर्थयात्राम्: pilgrimage to sacred places
• तीर्थयात्राम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + यात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: तीर्थस्य यात्रा (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• प्रतिदिनम्: daily
• प्रतिदिनम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रति (अव्यय/उपसर्ग) + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (adverb: every day)

• कुर्वन्: doing, performing
• कुर्वन्: Karta (Agent participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ऊनम्: surely, indeed
• ऊनम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ऊन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् क्रियाविशेषण-प्रयोगः (adverbial accusative: "certainly/indeed"; lit. "not less")

• सवत्सरम्: for a year
• सवत्सरम्: Adhikarana (Temporal extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्सर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; काल-अवधि (duration accusative: for a year)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation marker/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपातः

• प्राप: attained, reached
• प्राप: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार/परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; (epic usage: "attained")

• सर्वतीर्थानि: all sacred places
• सर्वतीर्थानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: सर्वाणि तीर्थानि (कर्मधारय); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford/place
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (locative)

• तिले: in each sesame-seed (i.e., at every tiny point)
• तिले: Adhikarana (Distributional location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोगः (reduplication)

• तिले: in each sesame-seed
• तिले: Adhikarana (Distributional location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-द्वितीयपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (tīrtha at every ‘tila’)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic Kāśī ghat-scape where every stone, step, and water ripple is subtly marked as a ‘tīrtha’, conveying infinite sacred points within one city.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Tīrtha (plural concept)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is depicted as saturated with sanctity—its holiness is not confined to a few spots but permeates the entire kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī as an all-encompassing tīrtha-field, containing countless tīrthas throughout the city.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tīrtha-yātrā is referenced generally (daily pilgrimage), but the verse stresses Kāśī’s inexhaustible number of holy sites rather than a specific rite.