Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

इति पाखंडधर्मज्ञः संध्यास्नानपराङ्मुखः । विशालतिलकः स्रग्वी शुद्धधौतांबरोज्वलः

Transliteration

iti pākhaṃḍadharmajñaḥ saṃdhyāsnānaparāṅmukhaḥ | viśālatilakaḥ sragvī śuddhadhautāṃbarojvalaḥ

Translation

Ainsi, bien qu’expert dans les voies de l’hypocrisie, il se détourna des devoirs de la prière du crépuscule et du bain sacré. Pourtant, il portait un large tilaka, des guirlandes, et resplendissait de vêtements immaculés, fraîchement lavés.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्ययम् (quotative particle: thus)

• pākhaṇḍa-dharma-jñaḥ: knower of heretical practices
• pākhaṇḍa-dharma-jñaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pākhaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + jña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः; ‘pākhaṇḍasya dharmasya jñaḥ’), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• saṃdhyā-snāna-parāṅmukhaḥ: averse to twilight-ritual bathing
• saṃdhyā-snāna-parāṅmukhaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃdhyā (प्रातिपदिक) + snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + parāṅmukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः; ‘saṃdhyāsnānāt parāṅmukhaḥ’), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (pākhaṇḍadharmajñaḥ इति)

• viśāla-tilakaḥ: having a large forehead-mark
• viśāla-tilakaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viśāla (प्रातिपदिक) + tilaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (कर्मधारयः; ‘viśālaḥ tilakaḥ yasya’), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• sragvī: garlanded
• sragvī: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sragvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• śuddha-dhauta-ambara-ujvalaḥ: bright with clean-washed garments
• śuddha-dhauta-ambara-ujvalaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuddha (प्रातिपदिक) + dhauta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + ambara (प्रातिपदिक) + ujvala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः/बहुपदसमासः; ‘śuddha-dhautaṃ ambaraṃ yasya tena ujvalaḥ’), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Devadeva (Śiva) continuing the narration

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Gaṅgā-ghāṭ context implied)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A man splendidly dressed in spotless white, broad tilaka and garlands, yet turning his face away from the river at twilight where others perform sandhyā and snāna; the setting sun over Gaṅgā highlights the irony.

Characters & Entities

• Saṃdhyā (twilight worship)
• Snāna (sacred bathing)
• Tilaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

External religious appearance cannot substitute for daily disciplines like saṃdhyā and snāna; inner practice is the foundation of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse advances a Kāśī-framed moral narrative about authentic conduct.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references neglected duties—saṃdhyā (twilight worship) and snāna (bathing)—as core practices expected in dharmic life.