Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

चित्तमंतर्गतं दुष्टं तीर्थस्नानान्न शुद्ध्यति । शतशोथ जलैर्धौतं सुराभांडमिवाशुचि

Transliteration

cittamaṃtargataṃ duṣṭaṃ tīrthasnānānna śuddhyati | śataśotha jalairdhautaṃ surābhāṃḍamivāśuci

Translation

അന്തരത്തിൽ ദുഷ്ടമായ ചിത്തം തീർത്ഥസ്നാനങ്ങളാൽ ശുദ്ധിയാകുന്നില്ല; മദ്യപാത്രം നൂറുകണക്കിന് തവണ വെള്ളത്തിൽ കഴുകിയാലും അശുദ്ധമായിരിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ.

Word by Word

• cittam: mind
• cittam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• antargatam: gone within, internal
• antargatam: Karta-pradhana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: antar (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + gata (कृदन्त) (समास/उपपद)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘अन्तर्’ (अव्यय) + ‘गत’ (क्त, √gam) = अव्ययीभाव-समास; विशेषणम् (चित्तस्य)

• duṣṭam: corrupt
• duṣṭam: Karta-pradhana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (चित्तस्य)

• tīrtha-snānāt: from bathing at a pilgrimage-place
• tīrtha-snānāt: Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + snāna (प्रातिपदिक) (समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तीर्थस्य स्नानम्)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• śuddhyati: becomes purified
• śuddhyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śudh (धातु)
• Form: लट्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• śataśaḥ: hundreds of times
• śataśaḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śataśas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/आवृत्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (hundreds of times)

• jalaiḥ: with waters
• jalaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• dhautam: washed
• dhautam: Karta-pradhana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhāv (धातु) → dhauta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (भाण्डस्य)

• surā-bhāṇḍam: a liquor-vessel
• surā-bhāṇḍam: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surā (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) (समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सुरायाः भाण्डम्)

• iva: like
• iva: Sambandha (Comparison marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानार्थक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• aśuci: impure
• aśuci: Karta-pradhana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aśuci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (भाण्डस्य/चित्तस्य—अशुचि)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-tīrthas (general)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a tīrtha-ghāṭa, a person repeatedly pours water over a stained vessel; the stain remains. Beside it, a heart-mind symbol is darkened; a sage points inward, indicating the true cleansing is internal.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Outer rites cannot cleanse a corrupted heart; inner reform is essential for purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Tīrthas in general are referenced; in Kāśīkhaṇḍa the statement safeguards Kāśī’s sanctity by insisting on inner readiness.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse critiques reliance on snāna alone and implies the need for repentance, restraint, and purification of intention.