Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

पलमेकं पयः पीत्वा सर्पिषश्च पलद्वयम् । पलमेकं तु तोयस्य तप्तकृच्छ्र उदाहृतः

Transliteration

palamekaṃ payaḥ pītvā sarpiṣaśca paladvayam | palamekaṃ tu toyasya taptakṛcchra udāhṛtaḥ

Translation

ഒരു പലം പാൽ കുടിച്ച്, രണ്ട് പലം നെയ്യും ഒരു പലം വെള്ളവും സ്വീകരിക്കുക—ഇതേ ‘തപ്തകൃച്ഛ്ര’മെന്നു പ്രസ്താവിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• palam: one pala (a measure)
• palam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; measure-word

• ekam: one
• ekam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (palam इति)

• payaḥ: milk
• payaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: payas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• pītvā: having drunk
• pītvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pā (धाातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘पीत्वा’ = having drunk

• sarpiṣaḥ: of ghee
• sarpiṣaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarpis (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; ‘of ghee’ (elliptic with paladvayam)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• paladvayam: two palas
• paladvayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pala (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (द्वे पले = two palas)

• palam: one pala
• palam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ekam: one
• ekam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (palam इति)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/अवधारणार्थक (but/indeed)

• toyasya: of water
• toyasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: toya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘of water’ (elliptic with palam)

• taptakṛcchraḥ: the ‘taptakṛcchra’ penance
• taptakṛcchraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + kṛcchra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (तप्तः कृच्छ्रः)

• udāhṛtaḥ: is declared
• udāhṛtaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-ā-√hṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘is declared/said’ (passive sense)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse, typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer (general)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vow-observer in Kāśī sits on a kuśa mat near a ghat at dawn, measuring small portions of milk, ghee, and water in ritual vessels; behind him rise temple spires and the Ganga’s steps.

Characters & Entities

• Tapta-kṛcchra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity is not vague; dharma specifies precise limits so that self-restraint becomes measurable and sincere.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction is embedded in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-centered dharma teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapta-kṛcchra quantities: 1 pala milk, 2 palas ghee, 1 pala water (as stated in this verse).