Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

यत्फलं समवाप्नोति पितॄन्संतर्प्य पुष्करे । तत्फलं कोटिगुणितं ज्ञानतीर्थे तिलोदकैः

Transliteration

yatphalaṃ samavāpnoti pitṝnsaṃtarpya puṣkare | tatphalaṃ koṭiguṇitaṃ jñānatīrthe tilodakaiḥ

Translation

പുഷ്കരത്തിൽ പിതൃകളെ സന്തർപ്പിച്ച് ലഭിക്കുന്ന ഫലം, ജ്ഞാനതീർത്ഥത്തിൽ തിലോദകം (എള്ളുകലർന്ന ജലം) അർപ്പിച്ചാൽ കോടിഗുണമായി ലഭിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• यत्: which
• यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम (relative)

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• समवाप्नोति: obtains fully
• समवाप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पितॄन्: the ancestors
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• संतर्प्य: having satisfied (them)
• संतर्प्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + तृप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Absolutive/Gerund), पूर्वक्रिया

• पुष्करे: at Puṣkara
• पुष्करे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; निर्देशक-सर्वनाम (correlative)

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Predicate complement/फल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कोटिगुणितम्: multiplied a crore-fold
• कोटिगुणितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोटि-गुणित (प्रातिपदिक; कोटि + गुणित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; ‘गुणित’ = √गुण्/गण्? (गुणयति) क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण

• ज्ञानतीर्थे: at Jñāna-tīrtha
• ज्ञानतीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; ज्ञान + तीर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः

• तिलोदकैः: with sesame-water offerings
• तिलोदकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल-उदक (प्रातिपदिक; तिल + उदक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (तिलयुक्तम् उदकम्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jñānatīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rṣi audience / internal questioner

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at Jñānatīrtha pours sesame-water (tilodaka) in a thin stream; in the distance, a faint mirage of Puṣkara lake appears, dwarfed by the radiance of Kāśī’s tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Puṣkara
• Jñānatīrtha
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Tila-udaka (sesame water)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s Jñānatīrtha is exalted as an unsurpassed place for pitṛ-satisfaction, where standard rites yield vastly amplified merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jñānatīrtha in Kāśī; Puṣkara is cited as a renowned comparator.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pitṛ-tarpaṇa using tila-udaka (sesame-mixed water).