Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

तीर्थे तपस्युपकृतौ सदाचारादिकर्मणि । फलाभिलाषिणीबुद्धिर्न येषां ते जना अमी

Transliteration

tīrthe tapasyupakṛtau sadācārādikarmaṇi | phalābhilāṣiṇībuddhirna yeṣāṃ te janā amī

Translation

തീർത്ഥകർമ്മങ്ങളിലും തപസ്സിലും സദാചാരാദി കർത്തവ്യങ്ങളിലും ഫലലാഭാഭിലാഷമില്ലാത്ത ബുദ്ധിയുള്ളവർ തന്നെയാണ് സത്യത്തിൽ ശ്രേഷ്ഠരും മാതൃകാപുരുഷന്മാരും.

Word by Word

• तीर्थे: in a sacred place (tīrtha)
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• तपसि: in austerity
• तपसि: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• उपकृतौ: in service/helpfulness
• उपकृतौ: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• सदाचारादि-कर्मणि: in acts such as good conduct
• सदाचारादि-कर्मणि: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सदाचार (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक) + कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (सदाचारादीनि कर्माणि यस्मिन्)

• फल-अभिलाषिणी-बुद्धिः: a mind desiring results
• फल-अभिलाषिणी-बुद्धिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक) + अभिलाषिन् (प्रातिपदिक) + बुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (फलाभिलाषिणी या बुद्धिः)

• न: not
• न: Modifier (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• येषाम्: of whom
• येषाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन

• ते: those
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• जनाः: people
• जनाः: Apposition (सम्बोधन/विशेष्य-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• अमी: these (here)
• अमी: Apposition (सम्बोधन/विशेष्य-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (typical frame; not stated in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene group of pilgrims and ascetics at a riverbank tīrtha, performing simple duties—bathing, japa, and service—without display; a calm, luminous atmosphere suggesting inner detachment.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha
• Tapas
• Sadācāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True holiness is desireless dharma—performing tīrtha-acts, tapas, and good conduct without craving results.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Tīrtha in general is praised here as a setting for pure, non-commercial spirituality within the Kāśī-māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A general prescription: perform tīrtha-related acts, austerities, and sadācāra without fruit-seeking intention.