Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

नाम्नां सहस्रगंगायाः स्तवराजेषुशो भनम् । जप्यानां परमं जप्यं वेदोपनिषदासमम्

Transliteration

nāmnāṃ sahasragaṃgāyāḥ stavarājeṣuśo bhanam | japyānāṃ paramaṃ japyaṃ vedopaniṣadāsamam

Translation

‘ഗംഗാ സഹസ്രനാമം’ സ്തവരാജങ്ങളിൽ ശോഭിക്കുന്നതു; ജപ്യങ്ങളിൽ ഇത് പരമ ജപ്യം—വേദോപനിഷത്തുകൾക്ക് തുല്യം.

Word by Word

• नाम्नाम्: of (the) names
• नाम्नाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; ‘of names’

• सहस्रगंगायाः: of Sahasragangā (the Thousand-Gaṅgā)
• सहस्रगंगायाः: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र-गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक; सहस्र + गङ्गा)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘सहस्रा गङ्गा’/‘सहस्रनाम्नी गङ्गा’)

• स्तवराजेषु: among hymn-kings (chief hymns)
• स्तवराजेषु: अधिकरण (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्तव-राज (प्रातिपदिक; स्तव + राज)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘स्तवानां राजा’)

• शोभनम्: beautiful; excellent
• शोभनम्: विधेय (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शोभन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• जप्यानाम्: of recitations
• जप्यानाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जप्य (प्रातिपदिक/कृत्य)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; ‘of things to be recited’

• परमम्: supreme
• परमम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• जप्यम्: the (best) thing to be recited
• जप्यम्: विधेय (Predicate noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जप् (धातु) + यत्/ण्यत् (कृत्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कृत्य (gerundive: ‘that which should be recited’)

• वेदोपनिषदासमम्: equal to the Vedas and Upaniṣads
• वेदोपनिषदासमम्: विधेय (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेद-उपनिषद्-सम (प्रातिपदिक; वेद + उपनिषद् + सम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (वेदोपनिषद्भ्यां समम्)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā-sahasranāma (Kāśī usage)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages / devotees seeking the best japa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A manuscript or scroll titled ‘Gaṅgā-sahasranāma’ placed on a clean altar by the river; above it, faint imagery of Vedic sages and Upaniṣadic fire-symbols, indicating ‘veda-upaniṣad-samāna’; Gaṅgā’s waters shimmer like sacred syllables.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Vedas
• Upaniṣads

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional speech (stotra/japa) is elevated to scriptural sanctity when centered on Gaṅgā’s divine names.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā as a living tīrtha; the praise supports Kāśī’s Gaṅgā-centered worship culture.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Chanting (japa) of Gaṅgā’s Sahasranāma is recommended as the supreme recitation.