Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

यो वै पिलिपिला तीर्थे स्नात्वोत्तरवहांभसि । सरित्त्रयं महापुण्यं यत्र साक्षाद्वसेत्सदा

Transliteration

yo vai pilipilā tīrthe snātvottaravahāṃbhasi | sarittrayaṃ mahāpuṇyaṃ yatra sākṣādvasetsadā

Translation

പിലിപിലാ-തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ ഉത്തരവാഹിനിയായ പ്രവാഹജലത്തിൽ ആരെങ്കിലും സ്നാനം ചെയ്താൽ, അവിടെ സാക്ഷാൽ എന്നും മഹാപുണ്യപ്രദമായ മൂന്ന് പുണ്യനദികളുടെ സംഗമം വസിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/निश्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/उपपद अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• pilipilā: Pilipilā (name of a tīrtha)
• pilipilā: Sambandha (Name/नाम)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pilipilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (तीर्थनाम), प्रथमा/संबोधन-एकवचन (contextually stem in toponym); तीर्थे इत्यनेन सह नामनिर्देशः

• tīrthe: at the sacred ford
• tīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकाल (having bathed)

• uttara-vahā-ambhasi: in the waters of Uttaravahā (river)
• uttara-vahā-ambhasi: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक) + vahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ambhas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: उत्तरवहायाः अम्भसि; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• sarit-trayam: the triad of rivers
• sarit-trayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarit (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास: तिस्रः सरितः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• mahā-puṇyam: greatly meritorious
• mahā-puṇyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; sarit-trayam इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• sākṣāt: directly, in person
• sākṣāt: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sākṣāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रत्यक्षार्थक (directly/in person)

• vaset: would dwell
• vaset: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vas (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pilipilā-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrow, north-flowing stream in Kāśī; as a pilgrim bathes, three luminous currents—symbolic Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and a third sacred river (often Sarasvatī by convention)—interweave visibly as colored ribbons of light beneath the surface.

Characters & Entities

• Pilipilā-tīrtha
• uttaravahā (north-flowing stream)
• sarit-traya (three rivers)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain Kāśī tīrthas are presented as embodying multiple pan-Indian sanctities, concentrating vast merit in one place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Pilipilā-tīrtha in Kāśī, associated with north-flowing waters and the ever-present ‘three rivers’ sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) at Pilipilā-tīrtha in the uttaravāhinī (north-flowing) waters.