Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 93

Devanagari script

प्रहासान्मत्कथालापांल्लाभमोहविवर्जितान् । स्वर्धुनीस्नानसंक्लिन्न सुनिर्मलशिरोरुहान्

Transliteration

prahāsānmatkathālāpāṃllābhamohavivarjitān | svardhunīsnānasaṃklinna sunirmalaśiroruhān

Translation

“അവർ ഹർഷിതരാണ്, എന്റെ കഥകളുടെ സംവാദത്തിൽ ലീനരാണ്, ലാഭവും മോഹവും വിട്ടവർ; സ്വർധുനിയിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത് നനഞ്ഞ അവരുടെ കേശങ്ങൾ അത്യന്തം നിർമലമാണ്.”

Word by Word

• प्रहासान्: laughters, smiles
• प्रहासान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रहास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Plural)

• मत्कथालापान्: conversations about my story
• मत्कथालापान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + कथा (प्रातिपदिक) + आलाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Plural); तत्पुरुष (मम कथा-आलापाः)

• लाभमोहविवर्जितान्: free from greed and delusion
• लाभमोहविवर्जितान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लाभ (प्रातिपदिक) + मोह (प्रातिपदिक) + विवर्जित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Plural); विशेषण; तत्पुरुष (लाभ-मोहाभ्यां विवर्जिताः)

• स्वर्धुनीस्नानसंक्लिन्नान्: wet from bathing in the heavenly river (Gaṅgā)
• स्वर्धुनीस्नानसंक्लिन्नान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वर्धुनी (प्रातिपदिक) + स्नान (प्रातिपदिक) + संक्लिन्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Plural); विशेषण; तत्पुरुष (स्वर्धुन्यां स्नानेन संक्लिन्नाः)

• सुनिर्मलशिरोरुहान्: having very clean hair
• सुनिर्मलशिरोरुहान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + निर्मल (प्रातिपदिक) + शिरोरुह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Plural); विशेषण; कर्मधारय (सुनिर्मलाः शिरोरुहाः येषाम्)

Speaker

Nandin (reporting to Śiva; inferred continuation from prior verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Svargadhunī (Gaṅgā) at Kāśī

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śiva (Vṛṣabhadhvaja)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of radiant devotees, hair wet and gleaming from Gaṅgā-snān, sit laughing gently and discussing Śiva; their faces are clear, unburdened by desire; the riverbank and morning light frame their purity.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā (Svardhunī)
• Śiva (implied by 'mat-kathā')

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True holiness combines devotion (speaking of God), purity (sacred bathing), and inner detachment (freedom from greed and delusion).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā—called Svardhunī, the celestial river—is praised through the act of bathing that purifies devotees.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) in the Gaṅgā/Svardhunī, coupled with devotional discourse (kathā).