Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

एकदा स हि हेमंते मार्गे मासि तपोधनः । स्नात्वा तत्र महातीर्थे मध्याह्ने विमलोदके

Transliteration

ekadā sa hi hemaṃte mārge māsi tapodhanaḥ | snātvā tatra mahātīrthe madhyāhne vimalodake

Translation

ഒരിക്കൽ ഹേമന്തഋതുവിൽ, മാർഗമാസത്തിൽ, ആ തപോധനൻ അവിടെ മഹാതീർത്ഥത്തിൽ മധ്യാഹ്നത്തിൽ നിർമ്മലജലത്തിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്തു.

Word by Word

• एकदा: once
• एकदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एकदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (once)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• हेमन्ते: in winter
• हेमन्ते: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेमन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मार्गे: on the path
• मार्गे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मासि: in the month
• मासि: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तपोधनः: one rich in austerity (ascetic)
• तपोधनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् + धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (तपः धनं यस्य सः)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya-vishesana (Prior action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु) → स्नात्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया (having bathed)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• महातीर्थे: at the great sacred ford
• महातीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (महच्च तत् तीर्थम्)

• मध्याह्ने: at midday
• मध्याह्ने: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्याह्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• विमलोदके: in the clear water
• विमलोदके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विमल + उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (विमलं उदकं यस्मिन्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahātīrtha in Kāśī (unspecified in verse)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (Kumbhayoni)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Winter midday at a Kāśī tīrtha: clear, cool water; the ascetic Vālmīki steps into the river/ford under pale sun, with ghāṭ steps, distant temples, and pilgrims in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Vālmīki
• Mārgaśīrṣa (Mārga month)
• Mahātīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity of place, time, and intention—especially bathing at a tīrtha—supports spiritual discipline and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A “mahātīrtha” is mentioned without a specific name in this verse; within Kāśī-khaṇḍa it points to the sacred tīrthas of Kāśī’s landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) at midday in a tīrtha, especially during the Mārgaśīrṣa/winter period.