Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

ऋणमोचनतस्तीर्थात्सहस्रं द्विशताधिकम् । वैतरण्या अपि मुने द्विजानामयुतार्धकम्

Transliteration

ṛṇamocanatastīrthātsahasraṃ dviśatādhikam | vaitaraṇyā api mune dvijānāmayutārdhakam

Translation

Du tīrtha nommé Ṛṇamocana vinrent mille deux cents; et de Vaitaraṇī aussi, ô sage, vinrent cinq mille hommes deux fois nés.

Word by Word

• ऋण-मोचनतः: from Ṛṇamocana (tīrtha)
• ऋण-मोचनतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋण + मोचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ऋणस्य मोचनम्)

• तीर्थात्: from the tīrtha
• तीर्थात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सहस्रम्: one thousand
• सहस्रम्: Karma/Measure (Count)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक; संख्या)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• द्वि-शत-अधिकम्: plus two hundred
• द्वि-शत-अधिकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier of सहस्रम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि + शत + अधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (द्विशतेन अधिकम् = exceeding by 200)

• वैतरण्याः: from Vaitaraṇī
• वैतरण्याः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैतरणी (प्रातिपदिक; नदी/तीर्थ-नाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: also/even)

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• द्विजानाम्: of the Brahmins
• द्विजानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन

• अयुत-अर्धकम्: half of ten thousand (five thousand)
• अयुत-अर्धकम्: Karma/Measure (Count)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयुत + अर्धक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (अयुतस्य अर्धम् = half of ten-thousand)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ṛṇamocana; Vaitaraṇī

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: muni (addressed: ‘O sage’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two groups arrive: one from Ṛṇamocana carrying modest gifts (cloth, grain) symbolizing repayment; another from Vaitaraṇī with solemn faces, some holding funeral-symbol items (kusha, waterpot), approaching Kāśī’s ghāṭas under a twilight sky.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Śiva
• Ṛṇamocana Tīrtha
• Vaitaraṇī
• Dvijas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are portrayed as relieving burdens—worldly and karmic—culminating in the higher aim of Śiva-darśana in Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ṛṇamocana tīrtha and Vaitaraṇī are named as powerful tīrthas sending pilgrims onward to Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is described; the tīrtha-names imply customary snāna, dāna, and prayer for release from debts/burdens.