Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

यत्र विष्णुर्हयग्रीवो भक्तचिंतितमर्पयेत् । हयग्रीवाच्च वै तीर्थाद्गजतीर्थं विशिष्यते

Transliteration

yatra viṣṇurhayagrīvo bhaktaciṃtitamarpayet | hayagrīvācca vai tīrthādgajatīrthaṃ viśiṣyate

Translation

Là où Viṣṇu, sous la forme de Hayagrīva, accorde aux dévots ce que leur cœur a désiré, se trouve ce lieu sacré. Et au-delà même du Tīrtha de Hayagrīva, le Gaja Tīrtha est déclaré plus excellent.

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक देशवाचक अव्यय (relative locative adverb: where)

• विष्णुः: Viṣṇu
• विष्णुः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हयग्रीवः: Hayagrīva
• हयग्रीवः: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण/Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्रीव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास; विष्णोः विशेषण/नाम

• भक्त-चिंतितम्: what devotees desire
• भक्त-चिंतितम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + चिंतित (चिन्त् धातु + क्त कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (भक्तैः चिंतितम् = desired by devotees)

• अर्पयेत्: would grant/offer
• अर्पयेत्: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्पय् (अर्प् causative/णिजन्त धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• हयग्रीवात्: than Hayagrīva (tīrtha)
• हयग्रीवात्: Apadana (अपादान/Comparison-source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हयग्रीव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Conjunction
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात, निश्चयार्थक/खलु-अर्थे (indeed)

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

• गज-तीर्थम्: Gajatīrtha
• गज-तीर्थम्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (गजस्य तीर्थम्) नाम

• विशिष्यते: is distinguished/excels
• विशिष्यते: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि+शिष् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (as Liṅga)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hayagrīva Tīrtha; Gaja Tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A shrine or icon of Viṣṇu as Hayagrīva (horse-headed) blessing a kneeling devotee; nearby, a symbolic elephant (gaja) motif marks the superior Gaja Tīrtha, with pilgrims moving onward in reverent procession.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Hayagrīva
• Hayagrīva Tīrtha
• Gaja Tīrtha
• Kāśī
• Vārāṇasī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text portrays tīrthas as living channels of divine compassion, where Viṣṇu’s forms respond to devotion; it also teaches gradations of sacred potency.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hayagrīva Tīrtha (where Viṣṇu-Hayagrīva fulfills devotees’ wishes) and, as even more distinguished, Gaja Tīrtha in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied pilgrimage observances—approaching the tīrtha with devotion for fulfillment; no single explicit rite is specified.