Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

तावद्धमति संसारे यावद्गंगां न सेवते । संसेव्य गंगां नो जंतुर्भवक्लेशं प्रपश्यति

Transliteration

tāvaddhamati saṃsāre yāvadgaṃgāṃ na sevate | saṃsevya gaṃgāṃ no jaṃturbhavakleśaṃ prapaśyati

Translation

ഗംഗയെ സേവിക്കാത്തതുവരെ ജീവൻ സംസാരത്തിൽ കഷ്ടപ്പെടുന്നു; ഗംഗയെ സേവിച്ചാൽ പിന്നെ ഭവക്ലേശം കാണുകയില്ല।

Word by Word

• tāvat: so long
• tāvat: Sambandha (Correlation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (correlative adverb)

• dhamati: blows about/wanders (restlessly)
• dhamati: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dham (धम् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• saṃsāre: in worldly existence
• saṃsāre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Correlation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (relative adverb)

• gaṅgām: Ganga
• gaṅgām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• sevate: serves/attends
• sevate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sev (सेव् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• saṃsevya: having served
• saṃsevya: Kriya (Non-finite verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + sev (सेव् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive) — ‘having served’

• gaṅgām: Ganga
• gaṅgām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• jantuḥ: a creature/person
• jantuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jantu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• bhava-kleśam: the affliction of worldly existence
• bhava-kleśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक) + kleśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• prapaśyati: sees/experiences
• prapaśyati: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + paś (पश् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two-panel contrast: left, a weary being trudges through a wheel of saṃsāra; right, the same person serves Gaṅgā at a ghat (cleaning steps, offering lamp), and the wheel fades into calm light.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Saṃsāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional service to Gaṅgā is presented as a decisive turning from saṃsāra toward freedom from worldly suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā in the Kāśī tīrtha-mandala (Kashi sacred field).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Gaṅgā-sevā—reverent service/attendance to Gaṅgā (which may include bathing, worship, and tīrtha observances).