Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

गोप्रतारेश्वरं नाम तदग्रे तीर्थमुत्तमम् । अपुत्रोपि तरेद्यत्र स्नातो वैतरणीं सुखम्

Transliteration

gopratāreśvaraṃ nāma tadagre tīrthamuttamam | aputropi taredyatra snāto vaitaraṇīṃ sukham

Translation

Di hadapannya ada tīrtha yang mulia bernama Gopratāreśvara. Dengan mandi di sana, bahkan lelaki yang tidak mempunyai anak lelaki menyeberangi Vaitaraṇī dengan mudah.

Word by Word

• go-pratāra-īśvaram: (the deity) Gopratāreśvara
• go-pratāra-īśvaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + pratāra (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (गोप्रतारस्य ईश्वरः)

• nāma: named
• nāma: Sambandha (Apposition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय/शब्द)
• Form: अव्यय; नाम-निर्देशक निपात (appositive particle) — ‘named/called’

• tad-agre: in front of that/thereafter
• tad-agre: Desha (Location/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम) + agre (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; ‘तस्य अग्रे’ इति अर्थे; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः — ‘in front of it’

• tīrtham: a sacred ford/place
• tīrtham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• uttamam: excellent, best
• uttamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (tīrtham इति)

• a-putraḥ: a sonless man
• a-putraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a- (नञ्) + putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; नञ्-समास/उपसर्गपूर्वक-प्रातिपदिक — ‘sonless’

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात — ‘even’

• taret: would cross
• taret: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tṝ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• yatra: where
• yatra: Desha (Relative location/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक/देशवाचक (relative adverb) — ‘where’

• snātaḥ: having bathed
• snātaḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √snā (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• vaitaraṇīm: the Vaitaraṇī (river)
• vaitaraṇīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaitaraṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• sukham: easily, comfortably
• sukham: Prakara (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (accusative of manner) — ‘easily/comfortably’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gopratāreśvara

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee without a son stands at Gopratāreśvara tīrtha, bathing with solemn prayer; in a visionary overlay, the fearsome Vaitaraṇī transforms into a calm ford with a guiding light, while a Śiva-liṅga/shrine anchors the scene as the source of assurance.

Characters & Entities

• Gopratāreśvara
• Vaitaraṇī
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s grace is depicted as overriding customary anxieties about after-death passage; sacred bathing and Śiva’s protection secure the soul’s crossing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha associated with Gopratāreśvara in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna at the Gopratāreśvara tīrtha for ease in crossing the Vaitaraṇī.