Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

प्रह्लादतीर्थं तस्याग्रे यत्र प्रह्लादकेशवः । तत्र श्राद्धादिकं कृत्वा विप्णुलोके महीयते

Transliteration

prahlādatīrthaṃ tasyāgre yatra prahlādakeśavaḥ | tatra śrāddhādikaṃ kṛtvā vipṇuloke mahīyate

Translation

उस (मन्दिर) के आगे प्रह्लाद-तीर्थ है, जहाँ प्रह्लाद-केशव विराजमान हैं। वहाँ श्राद्ध आदि कर्म करके मनुष्य विष्णुलोक में सम्मानित होता है।

Word by Word

• प्रह्लादतीर्थम्: the Prahlāda-tīrtha (sacred ford)
• प्रह्लादतीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रह्लाद + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (प्रह्लादस्य तीर्थम्)

• तस्य: of that (place/one)
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अग्रे: in front (nearby)
• अग्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे ‘अग्रे’ = ‘in front/near’

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक-स्थानवाचक (relative adverb: where)

• प्रह्लादकेशवः: Prahlāda-Keśava (a form/name of Keśava)
• प्रह्लादकेशवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रह्लाद + केशव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (प्रह्लादरूपः केशवः / ‘Prahlāda-Keśava’)

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

• श्राद्धादिकम्: śrāddha and related rites
• श्राद्धादिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध + आदिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; ‘आदि’प्रत्ययार्थक-समासः (श्राद्धं च आदिकं च → श्राद्धादिकम् = śrāddha etc.)

• कृत्वा: having performed
• कृत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund); ‘having done’

• विष्णुलोके: in Viṣṇu’s world
• विष्णुलोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (विष्णोः लोकः)

• महीयते: is honored / attains glory
• महीयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मह् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः (is honored/glorified)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśī Khaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prahlāda-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer (Kāśī-māhātmya audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A small tīrtha pool/ghāṭa before a Viṣṇu shrine named Prahlāda-Keśava; a pilgrim performs śrāddha with darbha, piṇḍa and water-offerings while priests chant; subtle vision of Viṣṇuloka as a luminous realm above.

Characters & Entities

• Prahlāda-tīrtha
• Prahlāda-Keśava
• Viṣṇu
• Śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sacred geography sanctifies dharmic acts like Śrāddha, linking ancestral duty with devotion to Viṣṇu.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prahlāda-tīrtha, associated with the presence of Prahlāda-Keśava in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performing Śrāddha and related ancestral rites (śrāddhādika) at the tīrtha.