Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

बंदीतीर्थस्तु तत्रैव महानिगडखंडनम् । तत्र स्नातो विमुच्येत सर्वस्मात्कर्मपाशतः

Transliteration

baṃdītīrthastu tatraiva mahānigaḍakhaṃḍanam | tatra snāto vimucyeta sarvasmātkarmapāśataḥ

Translation

Là même se trouve le Tīrtha de Bandī, le grand briseur de fers ; celui qui s’y baigne est entièrement délivré de tous les liens du karma.

Word by Word

• बंदीतीर्थः: the Bandī-tīrtha (sacred ford named Bandī)
• बंदीतीर्थः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बंदी-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; बंदी + तीर्थ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (बंदी-सम्बन्धि तीर्थः)

• तु: indeed, and
• तु: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात/समुच्चयार्थ-विशेषक (particle: ‘but/indeed’)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb: ‘there’)

• एव: just, indeed
• एव: Sambandha/Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• महा: great
• महा: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्राय उपसर्गवत् पूर्वपद; विशेषणार्थे (as pre-adjectival ‘great’)

• निगड: shackle, fetter
• निगड: Samasa-anga (समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निगड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक; समासाङ्ग (component: ‘shackle/fetter’)

• खण्डनम्: breaking, destruction
• खण्डनम्: Vidheyam/Predicate nominative (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खण्डन (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-भाववाचक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; धातु √खण्ड् (छेदने) + ल्युट् (action noun)

• महा-निगड-खण्डनम्: the great breaker of fetters
• महा-निगड-खण्डनम्: Vidheyam/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + निगड + खण्डन (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘महद् निगडखण्डनम्’ = great shackle-breaking)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• स्नातः: having bathed
• स्नातः: Karta (कर्ता; implied ‘he who has bathed’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √स्ना (स्नाने) (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘स्नातः’ = having bathed

• विमुच्येत: would be freed
• विमुच्येत: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + √मुच् (मोचने) (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; ‘would be released’

• सर्वस्मात्: from all
• सर्वस्मात्: Apadana (अपादान/Source)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-शब्द

• कर्मपाशतः: from the bond of karma
• कर्मपाशतः: Apadana (अपादान/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्म-पाश (प्रातिपदिक; कर्म + पाश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘कर्मणः पाशः’ = bond of karma)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bandī Tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim descends stone steps into a small sacred water-body/ghat labeled Bandī Tīrtha; subtle imagery of broken iron shackles dissolving into the water as dawn light falls on Kāśī’s skyline and temple spires.

Characters & Entities

• Bandī Tīrtha
• Karma-pāśa (karmic bondage)
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are framed as instruments of grace that cut karmic bondage; liberation is linked to purity, faith, and tīrtha-sevā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bandī Tīrtha, explicitly praised as the ‘breaker of fetters’.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna at Bandī Tīrtha for release from karma-pāśa.