Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

अमासोमसमायोगे श्राद्धं यद्यत्र लभ्यते । तीर्थे कापिलधारेस्मिन्गयया पुष्करेण किम्

Transliteration

amāsomasamāyoge śrāddhaṃ yadyatra labhyate | tīrthe kāpiladhāresmingayayā puṣkareṇa kim

Translation

അമാവാസ്യ–സോമ സംയോഗത്തിൽ ഈ കാപിലാ-ധാര തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ ശ്രാദ്ധം ലഭിച്ചു/നടത്തുകയാണെങ്കിൽ, പിന്നെ ഗയയോ പുഷ്കരമോ എന്തിന്?

Word by Word

• अमासोमसमायोगे: at the conjunction of Amā (new-moon night) and Soma
• अमासोमसमायोगे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amā + soma + samāyoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (अमायाḥ सोमस्य च समायोगः)

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

• यदि: if
• यदि: Discourse/Condition (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्त-निपात (conditional particle ‘if’)

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक

• लभ्यते: is obtained; is available
• लभ्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense: ‘is obtained/available’)

• तीर्थे: in the sacred ford/place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• कापिलधारे: in/at the Kapilā stream
• कापिलधारे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāpila + dhārā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (कापिलस्याः धारा)

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गयया: with/than Gayā
• गयया: Karana/Comparison (Instrumental/तृतीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gayā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/सह), एकवचन

• पुष्करेण: with/than Puṣkara
• पुष्करेण: Karana/Comparison (Instrumental/तृतीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• किम्: what (need/use)?
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक (interrogative)

Speaker

Śiva (Devadeva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāpilā-dhārā-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience/inquirer

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kapilā-dhārā: a distinct stream/current by the Gaṅgā in Kāśī; pilgrims offer piṇḍas; in the background, symbolic vignettes of Gayā (Viṣṇupada) and Puṣkara (lake/temple) fade, implying ‘no need elsewhere’.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Amāvasyā (Amā)
• Soma
• Kāpiladhārā/Kāpilā
• Gayā
• Puṣkara
• Śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s tīrtha is exalted as equal or superior to famed pilgrimage centers for ancestor rites when śrāddha is performed at the right lunar time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāpiladhārā/Kāpilatīrtha in Kāśī, associated with the Kāpilā stream.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha here during the Amāvasyā–Soma conjunction for exceptional Pitṛ benefit.