Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

ततोपि धर्मशास्त्राणि तेभ्यो गुर्वी श्रुतिर्द्विज । ततोप्युपनिषच्छ्रेष्ठा गायत्री च ततोधिका

Transliteration

tatopi dharmaśāstrāṇi tebhyo gurvī śrutirdvija | tatopyupaniṣacchreṣṭhā gāyatrī ca tatodhikā

Translation

Mais elevados do que aqueles são os Dharmaśāstras; mais grave do que eles, ó duas-vezes-nascido, é a Śruti. Mais altas ainda são as Upaniṣads, e superior até a elas é a Gāyatrī.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter/than that
• tataḥ: Sambandha (relation/comparison marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): 'thereafter/than that'

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle): 'also/even'

• dharmaśāstrāṇi: treatises on dharma
• dharmaśāstrāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma-śāstra (धर्म + शास्त्र; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (धर्मस्य शास्त्राणि)

• tebhyaḥ: than/from those
• tebhyaḥ: Apadana (source/standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), बहुवचन; pronoun 'from/than them'

• gurvī: more authoritative/superior
• gurvī: Visheshana (adjectival predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: guru (गुरु; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (comparative sense: 'more weighty/superior')

• śrutiḥ: Śruti (Vedic revelation)
• śrutiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śruti (श्रुति; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• dvija: O twice-born (brahmin)
• dvija: Sambodhana (address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (द्विज; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

• tataḥ: than that/further
• tataḥ: Sambandha (comparison marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): 'thereafter/than that'

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle): 'even/also'

• upaniṣat-śreṣṭhā: the best Upaniṣad
• upaniṣat-śreṣṭhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upaniṣad-śreṣṭhā (उपनिषद् + श्रेष्ठा; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (श्रेष्ठा उपनिषत्)

• gāyatrī: Gāyatrī
• gāyatrī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gāyatrī (गायत्री; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction): 'and'

• tataḥ: than that
• tataḥ: Sambandha (comparison marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): 'than that'

• adhikā: greater/superior
• adhikā: Visheshana (adjectival predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhikā (अधिक; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (predicative)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija (addressed as ‘O twice-born’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A learned dvija listens as a sage enumerates ascending tiers of sacred authority—Dharmaśāstra, Śruti, Upaniṣad—culminating in the radiant Gāyatrī as a luminous mantra-essence hovering above palm-leaf manuscripts, with Kāśī’s ghāṭas faintly behind.

Characters & Entities

• Dharmaśāstra
• Śruti
• Upaniṣad
• Gāyatrī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Gāyatrī is portrayed as the concentrated essence of Vedic wisdom, making it the most efficacious support for dharma and liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s spiritual culture is the implied setting: the city’s greatness is expressed through the supremacy of its mantra-centered dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly supports Gāyatrī-japa and Sandhyā practice as the highest daily discipline.