Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

तत्र श्राद्धादिकं कृत्वा गयायां किं करिष्यति । स्नात्वा पिलिपिला तीर्थे कृत्वा वै पिंडपातनम्

Transliteration

tatra śrāddhādikaṃ kṛtvā gayāyāṃ kiṃ kariṣyati | snātvā pilipilā tīrthe kṛtvā vai piṃḍapātanam

Translation

അവിടെ തന്നേ ശ്രാദ്ധാദി കർമങ്ങൾ ചെയ്താൽ ഗയയിൽ പോയി പിന്നെ എന്ത് ചെയ്യണം? പിലിപിലാ-തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത് വിധിപൂർവ്വം പിണ്ഡദാനം (പിണ്ഡപാതനം) ചെയ്താൽ കർത്തവ്യം പൂർത്തിയാകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb: there)

• śrāddha-ādikam: śrāddha and the like (rites)
• śrāddha-ādikam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक) + -ka (तद्धित)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (ādi-समासार्थ): श्राद्धं आदिः यस्य तत्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): having done

• gayāyām: in Gayā
• gayāyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gayā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (स्थाननाम), सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• kariṣyati: will do
• kariṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (simple future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

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

• pilipilā: Pilipilā
• pilipilā: Sambandha (Name/नाम)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pilipilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (तीर्थनाम), प्रथमा/संबोधन-एकवचन (name used appositionally)

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

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): having done

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

• piṇḍa-pātanam: offering/dropping of funeral rice-balls
• piṇḍa-pātanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + pātana (प्रातिपदिक; √pat/पत् caus./noun)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: पिण्डस्य पातनम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pilipilā-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a Kāśī riverside platform near Pilipilā, a householder performs śrāddha: kuśa grass, water libations, sesame, and rice piṇḍas offered; faint ancestral figures appear satisfied in the background; a distant silhouette of Gayā fades, implying ‘no further need’.

Characters & Entities

• Pilipilā-tīrtha
• Gayā
• śrāddha
• piṇḍa-pātana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is depicted as a complete pilgrimage-field where even renowned external destinations are rendered unnecessary for certain rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Pilipilā-tīrtha in Kāśī, presented as sufficient for śrāddha and piṇḍa offerings traditionally associated with Gayā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha and piṇḍa-pātana after bathing (snāna) at Pilipilā-tīrtha.