Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

स्वर्गद्वारे विशेयुर्ये विगाह्य मणिकर्णिकाम् । तेषां विधूतपापानां कापि स्वर्गो न दूरतः

Transliteration

svargadvāre viśeyurye vigāhya maṇikarṇikām | teṣāṃ vidhūtapāpānāṃ kāpi svargo na dūrataḥ

Translation

മണികർണികയിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത് സ്വർഗ്ഗദ്വാരത്തിൽ പ്രവേശിക്കുന്നവർക്ക്—പാപം കഴുകിപ്പോയ അവർക്കു—ഏതൊരു സ്വർഗ്ഗലോകവും ദൂരമല്ല.

Word by Word

• स्वर्गद्वारे: at the gate of heaven
• स्वर्गद्वारे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + द्वार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (svargasya dvāre); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• विशेयुः: would/should enter
• विशेयुः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √विश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• ये: those who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• विगाह्य: having entered; having bathed in
• विगाह्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वि+√गाह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) — ‘having plunged into/entered’

• मणिकर्णिकाम्: Maṇikarṇikā
• मणिकर्णिकाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणिकर्णिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• विधूतपापानाम्: of those whose sins are washed away
• विधूतपापानाम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विधूत (कृदन्त; वि+√धू धातु) + पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समास (विधूतानि पापानि येषाम्); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘तेषाम्’)

• का: some (any)
• का: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक (indefinite/interrogative base)

• अपि: even; also
• अपि: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/सम्भावना/समुच्चयार्थ (particle)

• स्वर्गः: heaven
• स्वर्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• दूरतः: far away
• दूरतः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दूरतस् (अव्यय/तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — ‘from far’ = ‘far away’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims descending the steps into the sacred water at Maṇikarṇikā; a luminous archway symbolizing ‘svarga-dvāra’ appears above the river-mist; dark stains (sins) dissolve into light around the bathers.

Characters & Entities

• Maṇikarṇikā
• Svarga (heaven)
• Pāpa-kṣaya (removal of sin)
• Snāna (bathing)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-snāna at Maṇikarṇikā is praised as powerfully purifying, leading swiftly to auspicious posthumous states.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Maṇikarṇikā tīrtha in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Vigāha (plunging/bathing)—i.e., snāna in Maṇikarṇikā—as a purifier of sins.