Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

श्वेतद्वीपेपि सामग्री क्व गुणानां गरीयसी । ईदृशी यादृशी काश्यां धूतपापेस्ति पावनी

Transliteration

śvetadvīpepi sāmagrī kva guṇānāṃ garīyasī | īdṛśī yādṛśī kāśyāṃ dhūtapāpesti pāvanī

Translation

ശ്വേതദ്വീപിലുപോലും ഗുണങ്ങളുടെ അത്തരം മഹത്തായ സമൃദ്ധി എവിടെ? കാശിയിൽ ഉള്ള ധൂതപാപാ എന്ന പാവനിയെപ്പോലെ മറ്റെവിടെയും ഇല്ല।

Word by Word

• श्वेतद्वीपे: in Śvetadvīpa
• श्वेतद्वीपे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वेत (प्रातिपदिक) + द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (श्वेतः द्वीपः)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle), अपि = even/also

• सामग्री: collection/abundance (of excellences)
• सामग्री: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सामग्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• क्व: where?
• क्व: Desha (Location/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय (where?)

• गुणानाम्: of qualities
• गुणानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• गरीयसी: greater/superior
• गरीयसी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गरियस् (प्रातिपदिक; तुलनात्मक-विशेषण)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तुलनात्मक (comparative)

• ईदृशी: such (like this)
• ईदृशी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ईदृश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनामसदृश-विशेषण (such as this)

• यादृशी: as (such as)
• यादृशी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यादृश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-विशेषण (as/like which)

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• धूतपापे: in (the place) where sins are washed away
• धूतपापे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धूत (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (धूतानि पापानि यस्याः सा)

• अस्ति: is/exists
• अस्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• पावनी: the purifier (holy place/river)
• पावनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पावनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (narrator); praise voiced in the narrative by Viṣṇu (contextually continuing)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dhūtapāpā

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vaikuṇṭha (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant Kāśī waterbody named Dhūtapāpā glows with purifying light; pilgrims touch and bathe, while a distant ethereal Śvetadvīpa is evoked as a pale, otherworldly contrast—yet the focus remains on Kāśī’s immediate purifier.

Characters & Entities

• Śvetadvīpa
• Kāśī
• Dhūtapāpā (tīrtha/waters)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s purifying power is portrayed as uniquely concentrated in its tīrthas, surpassing even ideal divine realms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dhūtapāpā (the sin-washing purifier) associated with Kāśī’s sacred waters/tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, contact with or bathing in the purifying waters (tīrtha-sevā/snānā) is praised; no formal vow is stated.