Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

ततोपि श्रेयसां कर्तृ तीर्थं कृष्णाग्रजस्य हि । यत्र सूतवधात्पापाद्बलदेवो विमुक्तवान्

Transliteration

tatopi śreyasāṃ kartṛ tīrthaṃ kṛṣṇāgrajasya hi | yatra sūtavadhātpāpādbaladevo vimuktavān

Translation

അതിലും ശ്രേയസ്കരമായത് കൃഷ്ണന്റെ അഗ്രജൻ ബലദേവന്റെ തീർത്ഥം; അവിടെ സൂതവധജന്യ പാപത്തിൽ നിന്ന് അദ്ദേഹം വിമുക്തനായി.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter/from that
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘ततः’ = ‘thereafter/from that’

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle) — ‘also/even’

• śreyasām: of the best/beneficial (things)
• śreyasām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śreyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), बहुवचन — ‘of auspicious/beneficial things’

• kartṛ: producer/bestower
• kartṛ: Visheshana (Appositive qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kartṛ (कृ धातु-निष्पन्न प्रातिपदिक; कर्तृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन — ‘doer/maker’; here apposition to ‘tīrtham’ as ‘producer’

• tīrtham: sacred place (tirtha)
• tīrtham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/nom or 2nd/acc), एकवचन — here predicate/subject sense ‘a sacred ford’

• kṛṣṇa-agrajasya: of Kṛṣṇa’s elder brother
• kṛṣṇa-agrajasya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + agraja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘kṛṣṇasya agrajaḥ’), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन — ‘of Kṛṣṇa’s elder brother (Baladeva)’

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — emphasis/causal ‘indeed/for’

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्धबोधक/relative adverb) — ‘where’

• sūta-vadhāt: from (the sin of) killing the sūta
• sūta-vadhāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक) + vadha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘sūtasya vadhaḥ’), पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/ablative), एकवचन — ‘from the killing of the charioteer’

• pāpāt: from sin
• pāpāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/ablative), एकवचन — ‘from sin’

• baladevaḥ: Baladeva
• baladevaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: baladeva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन

• vimuktavān: was freed / became released
• vimuktavān: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi√muc (मुच् धातु) + kta-vat (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्तवत्-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृत्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — परस्मैपद-भावे ‘having been freed/was released’ (perfective past sense)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśī Khaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṛṣṇāgraja-tīrtha (Baladeva-tīrtha)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred bathing-place in Kāśī: Baladeva, white-complexioned and strong, bearing plough and mace, stands near the riverbank as the tīrtha’s waters shimmer; attendants and pilgrims offer water and flowers, signifying release from the stain of sūta-vadha.

Characters & Entities

• Baladeva
• Kṛṣṇa
• Baladeva Tīrtha (contextual name: kṛṣṇāgraja-tīrtha)
• Sūta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text frames tīrthas as instruments of restoration—re-aligning even great heroes with dharma through purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha associated with Baladeva (Kṛṣṇa’s elder brother).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; purification is attributed to the tīrtha itself (commonly via snāna/visit in such contexts).