Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

सप्ताब्धिस्नानजं पुण्यं यत्र स्नात्वा नरो लभेत् । महोदधीति विख्यातं तीर्थं सप्ताब्धितीर्थतः

Transliteration

saptābdhisnānajaṃ puṇyaṃ yatra snātvā naro labhet | mahodadhīti vikhyātaṃ tīrthaṃ saptābdhitīrthataḥ

Translation

ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ನಾನ ಮಾಡಿದ ಮನುಷ್ಯನು ಏಳು ಸಮುದ್ರಸ್ನಾನಜನ್ಯ ಪುಣ್ಯವನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಾನೋ, ಆ ತೀರ್ಥವು ‘ಮಹೋದಧಿ’ ಎಂದು ಖ್ಯಾತ, ಸಪ್ತಾಬ್ಧಿತೀರ್ಥಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಆಚೆ ಇದೆ.

Word by Word

• सप्ताब्धिस्नानजम्: arising from bathing in seven oceans
• सप्ताब्धिस्नानजम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त-अब्धि-स्नान-ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषणम् (पुण्यम्) “born of bathing in seven oceans”; समासः तत्पुरुष (सप्ताब्धिषु स्नानात् जातम्)

• पुण्यम्: merit
• पुण्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — “merit”

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) — “where”

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Gerund/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव — “having bathed”

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — “man/person”

• लभेत्: would obtain
• लभेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — “would obtain”

• महोदधि: Mahodadhi
• महोदधि: Nama (Apposition/नाम)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-उदधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (इति-उद्धरणे नामरूपेण) — “Mahodadhi (great ocean)”

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्धरण/quotative particle) — “thus/called”

• विख्यातम्: renowned
• विख्यातम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-√ख्या (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषणम् (तीर्थम्) “renowned/known”

• तीर्थम्: sacred ford
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — “sacred ford/pilgrimage place”

• सप्ताब्धितीर्थतः: from/than Saptābdhi-tīrtha
• सप्ताब्धितीर्थतः: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त-अब्धि-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन — ablative “from/than Saptābdhi-tīrtha”; समासः तत्पुरुष (नाम-समास)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśī-khaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahodadhi Tīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous water-body titled Mahodadhi; above it, seven concentric ocean-bands or seven directional seas appear as a cosmic overlay; pilgrims bathe while sages visualize the universe; the ‘beyond Sapta-ābdhi’ is shown as a path leading to a grander, more expansive pool.

Characters & Entities

• Mahodadhi Tīrtha
• Sapta-ābdhi Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī concentrates the merit of vast pilgrimages—one local snāna is equated with bathing across the seven seas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mahodadhi Tīrtha, described in relation to the Sapta-ābdhi Tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing), with its fruit compared to the merit of bathing in the ‘seven oceans’.