Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

इति पाखंडधर्मज्ञः संध्यास्नानपराङ्मुखः । विशालतिलकः स्रग्वी शुद्धधौतांबरोज्वलः

Transliteration

iti pākhaṃḍadharmajñaḥ saṃdhyāsnānaparāṅmukhaḥ | viśālatilakaḥ sragvī śuddhadhautāṃbarojvalaḥ

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ പാഖണ്ഡധർമ്മത്തിൽ നിപുണനായിരുന്നിട്ടും അവൻ സന്ധ്യാവന്ദനവും പുണ്യസ്നാനവും എന്ന കര്‍ത്തവ്യങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് പിന്തിരിഞ്ഞിരുന്നു. എങ്കിലും വിശാല തിലകം, മാല, ശുദ്ധമായി കഴുകിയ തിളങ്ങുന്ന വസ്ത്രങ്ങൾ എന്നിവയോടെ അവൻ പ്രകാശിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्ययम् (quotative particle: thus)

• pākhaṇḍa-dharma-jñaḥ: knower of heretical practices
• pākhaṇḍa-dharma-jñaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pākhaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + jña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः; ‘pākhaṇḍasya dharmasya jñaḥ’), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• saṃdhyā-snāna-parāṅmukhaḥ: averse to twilight-ritual bathing
• saṃdhyā-snāna-parāṅmukhaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃdhyā (प्रातिपदिक) + snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + parāṅmukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः; ‘saṃdhyāsnānāt parāṅmukhaḥ’), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (pākhaṇḍadharmajñaḥ इति)

• viśāla-tilakaḥ: having a large forehead-mark
• viśāla-tilakaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viśāla (प्रातिपदिक) + tilaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (कर्मधारयः; ‘viśālaḥ tilakaḥ yasya’), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• sragvī: garlanded
• sragvī: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sragvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• śuddha-dhauta-ambara-ujvalaḥ: bright with clean-washed garments
• śuddha-dhauta-ambara-ujvalaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuddha (प्रातिपदिक) + dhauta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + ambara (प्रातिपदिक) + ujvala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः/बहुपदसमासः; ‘śuddha-dhautaṃ ambaraṃ yasya tena ujvalaḥ’), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Devadeva (Śiva) continuing the narration

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Gaṅgā-ghāṭ context implied)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A man splendidly dressed in spotless white, broad tilaka and garlands, yet turning his face away from the river at twilight where others perform sandhyā and snāna; the setting sun over Gaṅgā highlights the irony.

Characters & Entities

• Saṃdhyā (twilight worship)
• Snāna (sacred bathing)
• Tilaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

External religious appearance cannot substitute for daily disciplines like saṃdhyā and snāna; inner practice is the foundation of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse advances a Kāśī-framed moral narrative about authentic conduct.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references neglected duties—saṃdhyā (twilight worship) and snāna (bathing)—as core practices expected in dharmic life.