Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

अन्यं विशेषं वक्ष्यामि महातृप्तिकरं परम् । कुहूसोमसमायोगे दत्तं श्राद्धमिहाक्षयम्

Transliteration

anyaṃ viśeṣaṃ vakṣyāmi mahātṛptikaraṃ param | kuhūsomasamāyoge dattaṃ śrāddhamihākṣayam

Translation

ഇപ്പോൾ ഞാൻ മറ്റൊരു പ്രത്യേകവിധി പറയുന്നു; അതു പരമവും മഹാതൃപ്തികരവും ആകുന്നു. കുഹൂ–സോമ സംയോഗത്തിൽ ഇവിടെ അർപ്പിക്കുന്ന ശ്രാദ്ധം അക്ഷയമാകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• अन्यम्: another
• अन्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषण (adjective)

• विशेषम्: special point; distinction
• विशेषम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वक्ष्यामि: I will speak
• वक्ष्यामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• महातृप्तिकरम्: highly satisfying; causing great satisfaction
• महातृप्तिकरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + tṛpti + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः—तत्पुरुष (महती तृप्तिः यस्य/यत् करोति)

• परम्: supreme; excellent
• परम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• कुहूसोमसमायोगे: at the conjunction of Kuhū and Soma (lunar occasion)
• कुहूसोमसमायोगे: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuhū + soma + samāyoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (कुहू-सोमयोः समायोगः)

• दत्तम्: given; offered
• दत्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dā (धातु) → datta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थं ‘given/offered’

• श्राद्धम्: Śrāddha rite (ancestral offering)
• श्राद्धम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• अक्षयम्: imperishable; inexhaustible
• अक्षयम्: Karta (Subject-complement/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (श्राद्धस्य)

Speaker

Śiva (Devadeva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Kāpilā-dhārā-tīrtha context)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer/audience within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa dialogue frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene Kāśī riverbank tīrtha at night of a lunar conjunction; brāhmaṇas seated on kuśa grass; a householder offers piṇḍa and tila-water with lamps flickering; the moon (Soma) emphasized in the sky as the auspicious marker.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Kuhū
• Soma (Moon)
• Śrāddha
• Kāpilatīrtha (Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right place plus auspicious time magnifies dharma—śrāddha at Kāśī’s tīrtha during the stated lunar conjunction yields imperishable fruit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The “here” refers to Kāpilatīrtha in Kāśī as the locus of akṣaya-śrāddha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha at Kāpilatīrtha specifically during the Kuhū–Soma samāyoga for akṣaya (non-decaying) merit.