Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

यथा गंगाऽवगाहेन शरीरं पावनं भवेत् । तथा पतिव्रता दृष्ट्या शुभया पावनं भवेत्

Transliteration

yathā gaṃgā'vagāhena śarīraṃ pāvanaṃ bhavet | tathā pativratā dṛṣṭyā śubhayā pāvanaṃ bhavet

Translation

ഗംഗയിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്‌താൽ ശരീരം ശുദ്ധമാകുന്നതുപോലെ, പതിവ്രതയുടെ ശുഭദൃഷ്ടിയാൽ മനുഷ്യനും പാവനനാകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparison marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानार्थक-अव्यय (comparative adverb)

• गङ्गा: Ganga (river)
• गङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अवगाहेन: by bathing/immersion
• अवगाहेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अव + गाह् (धातु) → अवगाह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• शरीरम्: the body
• शरीरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अत्र कर्म (object)

• पावनम्: pure/purifying
• पावनम्: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पावन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण

• भवेत्: would become/is to become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तथा: so/in the same way
• तथा: Sambandha (Correlation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: तुलनार्थक-अव्यय (correlative adverb)

• पतिव्रता: a devoted wife
• पतिव्रता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक); पतिव्रता (स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• दृष्ट्या: by (her) glance
• दृष्ट्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शुभया: auspicious
• शुभया: Karana (Instrument qualifier/करण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; दृष्ट्या इति विशेषण

• पावनम्: pure/purifying
• पावनम्: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पावन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Kāśī-ghāṭas)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a Kāśī ghat, pilgrims bathe in the Gaṅgā while a pativratā stands with calm luminosity; her gentle glance is shown as a halo-like beam paralleling the river’s cleansing flow.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Pativratā
• Kāśī (implied Gaṅgā in Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity arises not only from sacred waters but also from contact with embodied virtue; darśana of the righteous purifies.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā—central to Kāśī’s sacred geography—is explicitly praised through the analogy of bathing.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Gaṅgā-avaghāha (immersion/bathing) is referenced as a purificatory act.