Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

स्कंद उवाच । प्रसंगतो मयैतानि तीर्थानि कथितानि ते । भूमौ तिलांतरायां यत्तत्र तीर्थान्यनेशः

Transliteration

skaṃda uvāca | prasaṃgato mayaitāni tīrthāni kathitāni te | bhūmau tilāṃtarāyāṃ yattatra tīrthānyaneśaḥ

Translation

സ്കന്ദൻ പറഞ്ഞു—പ്രസംഗവശാൽ ഞാൻ നിനക്കു ഈ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളെക്കുറിച്ച് പറഞ്ഞു. ഹേ പ്രഭോ, ഭൂമിയിലെ ‘തിലാന്തരായാ’ എന്ന പ്രദേശത്ത് അനന്തമായ തീർത്ഥങ്ങൾ നിലനിൽക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• स्कन्दः: Skanda
• स्कन्दः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्कन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• प्रसङ्गतः: incidentally, by occasion
• प्रसङ्गतः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रसङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त), अर्थे—‘प्रसङ्गवशात्/occasionally’ (adverbial)

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• एतानि: these
• एतानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-विशेषण, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), बहुवचन

• तीर्थानि: pilgrimage places
• तीर्थानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), बहुवचन

• कथितानि: told, narrated
• कथितानि: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ् (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त—भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle, क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थे ‘have been told’

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यम-पुरुष-सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative), एकवचन

• भूमौ: on the earth
• भूमौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• तिलान्तरायाम्: in Tilāntarā (place/region)
• तिलान्तरायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (तिलानाम् अन्तरम्), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• यत्: which/that
• यत्: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग (relative particle), अर्थे—‘यत्/that which’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of place)

• तीर्थानि: pilgrimage places
• तीर्थानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अनेशः: helpless, powerless
• अनेशः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनीश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणार्थे ‘असमर्थ/helpless’ (contextually epithet)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Tilāntarā (tīrtha-cluster)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (Kalaśodbhava)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Skanda, as narrator, gestures to an expanse of Kāśī’s sacred ground called Tilāntarā, implying countless unseen tīrthas spread like a sacred map.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Tilāntarā
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is framed as a dense sacred landscape—its holiness is not isolated to one spot but spread through innumerable tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Tilāntarā is referenced as a locale containing innumerable tīrthas, within the Kāśī sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; it functions as a summary/transition emphasizing the abundance of tīrthas.