Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

सरसा मानसेनात्र पूर्वं तप्तं महातपः । अतस्तु मानसं तीर्थं जने ख्यातिमिदं गतम्

Transliteration

sarasā mānasenātra pūrvaṃ taptaṃ mahātapaḥ | atastu mānasaṃ tīrthaṃ jane khyātimidaṃ gatam

Translation

ഇവിടെ പുരാതനകാലത്ത് സരസാ, മാനസാ എന്നിവർ മഹാതപസ്സ് അനുഷ്ഠിച്ചു; അതിനാൽ ഇത് ജനങ്ങളിൽ ‘മാനസതീർത്ഥം’ എന്ന പേരിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധമായി.

Word by Word

• सरसा: by Sarasā (a lady named Sarasā)
• सरसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/करण), एकवचन — Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• मानसेन: with mental (austerity)
• मानसेन: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/करण), एकवचन — Instrumental, Singular; used adjectivally ‘mental/pertaining to mind’

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) — Indeclinable adverb of place

• पूर्वम्: formerly
• पूर्वम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) — Indeclinable adverb of time

• तप्तम्: was performed
• तप्तम्: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tap (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — PPP ‘performed/undertaken (austerity)’

• महातपः: great austerity
• महातपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: महा-तपस् (कर्मधारय: ‘great austerity’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/कर्ता), एकवचन — Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अतः: therefore
• अतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (हेतुवाचक) — Indeclinable ‘therefore’

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/विरोधार्थक/अन्वय) — Particle ‘but/indeed’

• मानसम्: Mānasa; mental
• मानसम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular (qualifying तीर्थम्)

• तीर्थम्: sacred ford; tīrtha
• तीर्थम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/कर्ता), एकवचन — Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• जने: among people
• जने: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7/अधिकरण), एकवचन — Masculine, Locative, Singular

• ख्यातिम्: fame; renown
• ख्यातिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khyāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/कर्म), एकवचन — Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — Pronoun ‘this’, Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular

• गतम्: has attained; has gone to
• गतम्: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — PPP ‘gone/attained’ (here: ‘has attained’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī Khaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mānasatīrtha

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two ascetic feminine figures—Sarasā and Mānasā—performing intense austerities beside a quiet kund in Kāśī; fire of tapas visualized as a subtle aura; the tirtha’s name inscribed or spoken by a narrator.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasā
• Mānasā
• Mānasatīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity (tapas) performed by revered beings consecrates a place, making it a lasting tīrtha for public uplift.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mānasatīrtha, named due to the tapas associated with Sarasā and Mānasā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is commanded here; the verse explains the tīrtha’s sanctifying origin through tapas.