Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

गंगोत्तरवहा यत्र यमुना पूर्ववाहिनी । तत्संभेदं नरः प्राप्य मुच्यते ब्रह्महत्यया

Transliteration

gaṃgottaravahā yatra yamunā pūrvavāhinī | tatsaṃbhedaṃ naraḥ prāpya mucyate brahmahatyayā

Translation

ഗംഗ ഉത്തരവാഹിനിയായി, യമുന പൂർവവാഹിനിയായി ഒഴുകുന്നിടത്ത് അവയുടെ സംഗമസ്ഥാനത്തെത്തുന്ന മനുഷ്യൻ ബ്രഹ്മഹത്യാപാപത്തിൽ നിന്നുപോലും മോചിതനാകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• गङ्गा-उत्तर-वहा: Ganga flowing northward
• गङ्गा-उत्तर-वहा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक) + वह (धातु) → वहा (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक, स्त्री)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष — “Ganga (that) flows northward”

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Desha-adhikarana (Locative adverbial/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक (relative adverb: where)

• यमुना: Yamuna
• यमुना: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यमुना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• पूर्व-वाहिनी: flowing eastward
• पूर्व-वाहिनी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + वह (धातु) → वाहिनी (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक, स्त्री)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष — “flowing eastward” (qualifies ‘यमुना’)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — demonstrative qualifying ‘संभेदम्’

• संभेदम्: the confluence
• संभेदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संभेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — “meeting point/confluence”

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) → प्राप्य (कृदन्त, ल्यप्/त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), ल्यप् — “having reached/after reaching”

• मुच्यते: is freed
• मुच्यते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — passive sense “is released”

• ब्रह्म-हत्यया: from the sin of brahma-hatya
• ब्रह्म-हत्यया: Apadana (Ablative sense via Instrumental/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + हत्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष — “from/with respect to Brahmin-slaying (sin)” (instrumental of separation/association)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Directional Saṅgama in Kāśī-māhātmya (Gaṅgottaravāhā–Yamunāpūrvavāhinī saṅgama)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer (traditional frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two rivers meet: Gaṅgā shown curving northward, Yamunā entering from the west and flowing east; at the confluence a penitent pilgrim with folded hands stands waist-deep in water; above, a subtle radiance signifies sin-dissolution.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Yamunā
• Saṃbheda (confluence/meeting-point)
• Brahmahatyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contact with an exceptionally sanctified tīrtha is portrayed as capable of absolving even the gravest sins.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A distinctive saṃbheda (meeting-point) where Gaṅgā is north-flowing and Yamunā is east-flowing.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prāpti—physically reaching the tīrtha (tīrtha-sevā/pilgrimage contact) as the stated means of purification.