Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

क्षीरोदाद्दक्षिणे तत्र शंखतीर्थमनुत्तमम् । तत्रापि संतर्प्यपितॄन्विष्णुलोकेमहीयते

Transliteration

kṣīrodāddakṣiṇe tatra śaṃkhatīrthamanuttamam | tatrāpi saṃtarpyapitṝnviṣṇulokemahīyate

Translation

ക്ഷീരോദയുടെ തെക്കുവശത്ത് അവിടെ അനുത്തമമായ ശംഖതീർത്ഥം ഉണ്ട്. അവിടെയും പിതൃപുരുഷന്മാരെ സന്തർപ്പിച്ചാൽ മനുഷ്യൻ വിഷ്ണുലോകത്തിൽ മഹിമപ്പെടുന്നു।

Word by Word

• kṣīrodāt: from the Kṣīroda (lake/river)
• kṣīrodāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣīroda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन

• dakṣiṇe: to the south (in the southern area)
• dakṣiṇe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; (दिशि/प्रदेशे)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय

• śaṃkha-tīrtham: Śaṅkha-tīrtha
• śaṃkha-tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkha (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (शंखस्य तीर्थम्)

• anuttamam: unsurpassed, excellent
• anuttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anuttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; (तीर्थम् इति विशेषणम्)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (also/even)

• saṃtarpyā: having satisfied (offered oblations to)
• saṃtarpyā: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√tṛp (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund); धातुः √tṛp (तृप्, तर्पणे) उपसर्गः सम्

• pitṝn: the ancestors
• pitṝn: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन

• viṣṇu-loke: in Viṣṇu’s world
• viṣṇu-loke: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (विष्णोः लोकः)

• mahīyate: is honored/exalted
• mahīyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √mah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातुः √mah (मह्, पूजायाम्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śaṅkha-tīrtha

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A conch-emblem tīrtha pool/ghāṭa south of Kṣīroda; devotee offers water to pitṛs; above, a Vaikuṇṭha-like vista where the devotee is honored, indicating Viṣṇu-loka recognition.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkha-tīrtha
• Kṣīroda
• Viṣṇuloka
• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Serving the Pitṛs at a sanctified place aligns one with Viṣṇu’s grace and leads to honor in the divine realm.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śaṅkha-tīrtha, located south of Kṣīroda in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Saṃtarpana—ritual satisfaction of the ancestors (tarpaṇa/śrāddha-related rites) at Śaṅkha-tīrtha.