Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

ततस्तत्कृपयानुन्नो धर्मपीठनिषेवणात् । निष्पाद्य तीर्थं तत्रेशोऽत्र स्नाहींद्रेति चाब्रवीत्

Transliteration

tatastatkṛpayānunno dharmapīṭhaniṣevaṇāt | niṣpādya tīrthaṃ tatreśo'tra snāhīṃdreti cābravīt

Translation

പിന്നീട് കരുണയാൽ പ്രേരിതനായി, ധർമ്മപീഠത്തിലെ ഇന്ദ്രന്റെ സേവനത്തിൽ പ്രസന്നനായ प्रभു അവിടെ ഒരു തീർത്ഥം സ്ഥാപിച്ച് പറഞ്ഞു— “ഹേ ഇന്ദ്രാ, ഇവിടെ സ്നാനം ചെയ്‌തു കൊൾക.”

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal adverbial/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, काल/अनन्तरार्थक (then/thereupon)

• tat-kṛpayā: by that compassion
• tat-kṛpayā: Karaṇa/Hetu (Instrument/Cause/करण-हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad + kṛpā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘his/that’ + ‘compassion’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), एकवचन

• anunnaḥ: impelled
• anunnaḥ: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anu-nud (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) ‘anunna’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘impelled/urged’

• dharma-pīṭha-niṣevaṇāt: from serving the seat of Dharma
• dharma-pīṭha-niṣevaṇāt: Apādāna/Hetu (Source/Cause/अपादान-हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma + pīṭha + niṣevaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/ablative), एकवचन

• niṣpādya: having established
• niṣpādya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main verb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nis-pad (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया: ‘having produced/established’

• tīrtham: a sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Locative adverbial/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb: there)

• īśaḥ: the Lord
• īśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• atra: here
• atra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Locative adverbial/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (here)

• snāhi: bathe
• snāhi: Kriyā (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: snā (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• indra: O Indra
• indra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणसूचक अव्यय

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• abravīt: said
• abravīt: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (narration) with quoted speech of Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharma-tīrtha (instituted here)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Lord, moved by compassion, gestures to the spot of water and declares it a tīrtha; Indra stands ready to enter the water; Dharmapīṭha is suggested by a symbolic dharma-seat/altar nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Īśa)
• Dharmapīṭha
• Tīrtha
• Indra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Compassionate divinity turns a devotee’s sincere service into sacred geography—creating a tīrtha for the welfare of all.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A newly established tīrtha at Dharmapīṭha in Kāśī (often understood as Dharma-tīrtha/Dharmatīrtha in this passage).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śiva’s direct injunction: perform snāna (ritual bathing) at this tīrtha.