Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

तीर्थस्नानपरानित्यं नित्यं देवपरायणाः । द्विजेषु नित्यं प्रणताः स्वनामाख्यानपूर्वकम्

Transliteration

tīrthasnānaparānityaṃ nityaṃ devaparāyaṇāḥ | dvijeṣu nityaṃ praṇatāḥ svanāmākhyānapūrvakam

Translation

അവർ നിത്യം തീർത്ഥസ്നാനത്തിൽ പരായണരും, നിത്യം ദേവപരായണരുമാണ്; ബ്രാഹ്മണരെ നിരന്തരം പ്രണാമം ചെയ്ത്, ആദ്യം വിധിപൂർവ്വം സ്വന്തം പേര് അറിയിച്ചാണ് വണങ്ങുന്നത്।

Word by Word

• तीर्थ-स्नान-पराः: devoted to bathing at sacred places
• तीर्थ-स्नान-पराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + स्नान (प्रातिपदिक) + पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तीर्थस्नाने पराः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण नपुंसकलिङ्ग एकवचन प्रथमा/द्वितीया (adverbial accusative)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial use)

• देव-परायणाः: wholly devoted to the gods
• देव-परायणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + परायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (देवे परायणाः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• द्विजेषु: among/with respect to the twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial use)

• प्रणताः: bowed down, reverent
• प्रणताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-नम् (धातु) + त (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त/त-प्रत्ययान्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘bowed’

• स्व-नाम-आख्यान-पूर्वकम्: preceded by stating their own name
• स्व-नाम-आख्यान-पूर्वकम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + नाम (प्रातिपदिक) + आख्यान (प्रातिपदिक) + पूर्वक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग एकवचन प्रथमा/द्वितीया, क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā-tīrthas of Kāśī (ghāṭa-snāna)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-audience within the Purāṇic dialogue frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn on a Kāśī ghat, devotees descend steps into the Gaṅgā for snāna; afterward they stand with wet hair and folded hands before a group of brāhmaṇas, stating their names and offering pranāma; small shrines and lamps line the steps.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Tīrtha
• Deva
• Dvija (Brāhmaṇa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Daily tīrtha-bathing, devotion to the divine, and respectful humility to the learned are pillars of dharma in Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī as a city of tīrthas where regular snāna is praised as a dharmic discipline.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Regular tīrtha-snāna (ritual bathing) and daily devotion (deva-parāyaṇatā), along with respectful salutations to Brāhmaṇas.