Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्कुंडे नरः स्नात्वा कृत्वा च पितृतर्पणम् । कृत्तिवासेश्वरं दृष्ट्वा कृतकृत्यो नरो भवेत्

Transliteration

tasminkuṃḍe naraḥ snātvā kṛtvā ca pitṛtarpaṇam | kṛttivāseśvaraṃ dṛṣṭvā kṛtakṛtyo naro bhavet

Translation

Après s’être baigné dans ce kuṇḍa et avoir accompli le tarpaṇa pour les ancêtres, l’homme qui voit Kṛttivāseśvara devient accompli : les devoirs de sa vie sont parachevés.

Word by Word

• tasmin: in that
• tasmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषण (अधिकरण-निर्देशक)

• kuṃḍe: in the pond
• kuṃḍe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṃḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: snā (धातु: स्ना)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛ (धातु: कृ)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• pitṛtarpaṇam: offering of libations to the ancestors
• pitṛtarpaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ-tarpaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पितृ + तर्पण); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• kṛttivāsa: Kṛttivāsa (name of Śiva)
• kṛttivāsa: Sambandha (Genitive-relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛtti-vāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कृत्ति + वास); पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद-रूप)

• īśvaram: the Lord
• īśvaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dṛś (धातु: दृश्)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• kṛtakṛtyaḥ: one who has accomplished his duty
• kṛtakṛtyaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta-kṛtya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (कृतं कृत्यं यस्य/कृतकृत्य); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• naraḥ: the man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• bhavet: would become
• bhavet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु: भू)
• Form: लोट्/विधिलिङ् (optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṛttivāseśvara-tīrtha (kuṇḍa)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim emerges from a lotus-filled kuṇḍa, offers tarpaṇa with cupped hands facing south, then walks to a small sanctum where Kṛttivāseśvara liṅga is adorned with bilva and sacred thread.

Characters & Entities

• Kuṇḍa
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Kṛttivāseśvara
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage joins personal liberation with ancestral duty: snāna, tarpaṇa, and Śiva-darśana complete one’s dharmic obligations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The kuṇḍa associated with Kṛttivāseśvara in Kāśī, together with the darśana of Kṛttivāseśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathing (snāna) in the kuṇḍa, performing pitṛ-tarpaṇa, and taking darśana of Kṛttivāseśvara.