Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

सर्वाण्यपि च तीर्थानि युगपत्तुलितान्यपि । नाधिजन्मुः पंचनद्याः कलाया अपि तुल्यताम्

Transliteration

sarvāṇyapi ca tīrthāni yugapattulitānyapi | nādhijanmuḥ paṃcanadyāḥ kalāyā api tulyatām

Translation

Quand bien même tous les tīrthas seraient pesés ensemble d’un seul coup, ils n’atteindraient pas l’égalité avec ne fût-ce qu’une parcelle du mérite et de la gloire de Pañcanadā.

Word by Word

• sarvāṇi: all
• sarvāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• api: even; also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

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

• tīrthāni: holy places; pilgrim-fords
• tīrthāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• yugapat: simultaneously
• yugapat: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yugapat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of simultaneity)

• tulitāni: weighed; compared
• tulitāni: Karta (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tul (तुल् धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• adhijanmuḥ: surpassed; exceeded
• adhijanmuḥ: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: adhi-jan (जन् धातु) + luṅ (लुङ्)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; उपसर्गः—अधि

• paṃcanadyāḥ: of Pañcanadī (the five-river confluence)
• paṃcanadyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃca-nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (पञ्च + नदी)

• kalāyāḥ: of a fraction/part (kalā)
• kalāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• tulyatām: equality; equivalence
• tulyatām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tulya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; भाववाचक (state/quality)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pañcanadā

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic ‘cosmic scale’ weighing all tīrthas on one side, while a small shining droplet labeled Pañcanadā’s ‘kalā’ outweighs them—set against Kāśī’s ghats and river.

Characters & Entities

• Pañcanadā (Pañcanada Tīrtha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional geography has hierarchies: some tīrthas are presented as uniquely potent beyond ordinary comparison.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Pañcanadā/Pañcanada Tīrtha in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite here; it is a superlative claim establishing Pañcanada’s unmatched tīrtha-status.