Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

सत्यं तीर्थं क्षमा तीर्थं तीर्थमिन्द्रियनिग्रहः । सर्वभूतदयातीर्थं तीर्थमार्जवमेव च

Transliteration

satyaṃ tīrthaṃ kṣamā tīrthaṃ tīrthamindriyanigrahaḥ | sarvabhūtadayātīrthaṃ tīrthamārjavameva ca

Translation

സത്യം തീർത്ഥം, ക്ഷമയും തീർത്ഥം, ഇന്ദ്രിയനിഗ്രഹവും തീർത്ഥം. സർവ്വഭൂതങ്ങളോടുള്ള ദയ തീർത്ഥം; ആർജവം—അന്തരംഗസരളത—അതും തീർത്ഥം തന്നെ.

Word by Word

• सत्यम्: truth
• सत्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय (predicate-nominative/accusative used as predicative)

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford/pilgrimage merit
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय (is a tīrtha)

• क्षमा: forbearance, forgiveness
• क्षमा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विधेय

• तीर्थम्: a tīrtha
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय

• तीर्थम्: a tīrtha
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय

• इन्द्रियनिग्रहः: restraint of the senses
• इन्द्रियनिग्रहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक) + निग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (इन्द्रियाणां निग्रहः)

• सर्वभूतदयातीर्थम्: the tīrtha of compassion toward all beings
• सर्वभूतदयातीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + दया (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेषां भूतानां दया = दयातीर्थम्)

• तीर्थम्: a tīrtha
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय

• आर्जवम्: straightforwardness, honesty
• आर्जवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आर्जव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय

• एव: indeed, only
• एव: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अवधारणार्थ (emphasis/only/indeed)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (inner tīrtha emphasis)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at Kāśī’s ghāṭa pauses before entering the Gaṅgā; around him appear personified virtues—Satya with a lamp, Kṣamā with open palms, Dama holding reins, Dayā sheltering beings, Ārjava as a clear mirror—indicating the ‘inner ford’.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True pilgrimage is ethical transformation—truth, forgiveness, self-control, compassion, and honesty are themselves purifying tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is the implied sacred setting, but the verse elevates inner virtues as the highest tīrtha even within Kāśī’s greatness.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No external rite is prescribed; the ‘practice’ emphasized is cultivating satya, kṣamā, indriya-nigraha, dayā, and ārjava.