Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

मृकंडस्य मुनेस्तीर्थं तद्याम्यामतिनिर्मलम । तत्र स्नानेन मर्त्यानां नापायमरणं क्वचित्

Transliteration

mṛkaṃḍasya munestīrthaṃ tadyāmyāmatinirmalama | tatra snānena martyānāṃ nāpāyamaraṇaṃ kvacit

Translation

Au sud se trouve le tīrtha du sage Mṛkaṇḍa, d’une pureté extrême. Par le bain en ce lieu, les mortels ne rencontrent jamais une mort de calamité ni de mauvais présage.

Word by Word

• मृकण्डस्य: of Mṛkaṇḍa
• मृकण्डस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृकण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• मुनेः: of the sage
• मुनेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford/place of pilgrimage
• तीर्थम्: Karma/Predicate nominal (Object or complement/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/प्रथमा or 2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (demonstrative)

• याम्यम्: southern / belonging to Yama
• याम्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: याम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• अतिनिर्मलम्: very pure
• अतिनिर्मलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + निर्मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण; 'अति' उपपद-पूर्वक (very)

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

• स्नानेन: by bathing
• स्नानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण (instrumental)

• मर्त्यानाम्: of mortals
• मर्त्यानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• अपायमरणम्: death that is a calamity / untimely death
• अपायमरणम्: Karma/Predicate nominal (Object or complement/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपाय (प्रातिपदिक) + मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अपायस्य मरणम्)

• क्वचित्: ever / anywhere
• क्वचित्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; काल/देशवाचक (indefinite adverb: at any time/anywhere)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mṛkaṇḍu-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene southern Kāśī riverbank: a small tīrtha-spot marked by a simple shrine or liṅga, with a sage-associated emblem; pilgrims bathe with folded hands as the Gaṅgā glows at dawn.

Characters & Entities

• Mṛkaṇḍa
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s tīrthas protect devotees: sincere bathing at a praised ford is said to avert inauspicious, calamity-filled death.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mṛkaṇḍa-muni’s tīrtha, described as located to the south (yāmyā) within the Kāśī sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) at the tīrtha.