Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

विदारनारसिंहाख्यं तीर्थं तत्रास्ति पावनम् । यत्रैकस्नानतो नश्येदघ जन्मशतार्जितम्

Transliteration

vidāranārasiṃhākhyaṃ tīrthaṃ tatrāsti pāvanam | yatraikasnānato naśyedagha janmaśatārjitam

Translation

അവിടെ വിദാര-നരസിംഹനാമമായ പാവന തീർത്ഥവും ഉണ്ട്. അവിടെ ഒരിക്കൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്താൽ നൂറു ജന്മങ്ങളിൽ സമ്പാദിച്ച പാപം നശിക്കും.

Word by Word

• vidāra-nārasiṃha-ākhyam: named ‘Vidāra-Nārasiṃha’
• vidāra-nārasiṃha-ākhyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vidāra (प्रातिपदिक) + nārasiṃha (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘vidāra-nārasiṃha iti ākhyā yasya’—विशेषणम् (qualifying tīrtham)

• tīrtham: the tīrtha
• tīrtham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

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

• asti: exists, is
• asti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• pāvanam: purifying
• pāvanam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying tīrtham)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, सम्बन्धबोधक/देशवाचक: ‘where’

• eka-snāna-taḥ: by a single bath
• eka-snāna-taḥ: Karana (Means/Cause/करण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः/अव्ययप्रयोगः: ‘ekena snānena’/‘ekasnānena’ इत्यर्थे; ‘-taḥ’ = ‘from/by (as cause)’

• naśyet: would perish, would be destroyed
• naśyet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √naś नश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• agha: sin
• agha: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘sin’ (object of naśyet)

• janma-śata-arjitam: accumulated over a hundred births
• janma-śata-arjitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: janma (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक) + arjita (कृदन्त; √arj अर्ज् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘janmaśatena arjitam’—विशेषणम् (qualifying agha)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vidāra-Nārasiṃha-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic yet auspicious scene: a small tīrtha pool/ghāṭ with swirling light on water; above, Vidāra-Nārasiṃha icon—lion-faced, radiant—bestowing fearlessness; a pilgrim emerges from the bath with folded hands.

Characters & Entities

• Vidāra-Nārasiṃha-tīrtha
• Nārasiṃha
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Agha (sin)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace concentrated in a tīrtha can rapidly purify even long-standing karmic burdens.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vidāra-Nārasiṃha-tīrtha in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Eka-snāna—performing even a single ritual bath at the tīrtha.