Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

गोपिगोविंद तीर्थं च गोपिगोविंदपूर्वतः । स्नात्वा तत्र समभ्यर्च्य विष्णुं विष्णुप्रियो भवेत्

Transliteration

gopigoviṃda tīrthaṃ ca gopigoviṃdapūrvataḥ | snātvā tatra samabhyarcya viṣṇuṃ viṣṇupriyo bhavet

Translation

கோபி-கோவிந்தரின் கிழக்கில் கோபி-கோவிந்த தீர்த்தமும் உள்ளது. அங்கே நீராடி, விஷ்ணுவை श्रद्धையுடன் அர்ச்சித்து, விஷ்ணுவின் பிரியனாகிறான்.

Word by Word

• गोपिगोविन्दतीर्थम्: the Gopī-Govinda sacred ford
• गोपिगोविन्दतीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोपी-गोविन्द-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; गोपी + गोविन्द + तीर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) — conjunction

• गोपिगोविन्दपूर्वतः: to the east/in front of Gopī-Govinda
• गोपिगोविन्दपूर्वतः: Adhikarana (Spatial relation/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: गोपी-गोविन्द-पूर्वतः (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय; गोपी + गोविन्द + पूर्वतः)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास, अव्यय (देशवाचक) — ‘to the east/in front of Gopī-Govinda’

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — having bathed

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative setting/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक) — adverb of place

• समभ्यर्च्य: having worshipped (properly)
• समभ्यर्च्य: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-अभि-अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — having duly worshipped

• विष्णुम्: Viṣṇu
• विष्णुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative singular

• विष्णुप्रियः: dear to Viṣṇu
• विष्णुप्रियः: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता-समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विष्णु-प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक; विष्णु + प्रिय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative singular (predicate adjective)

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — Optative, 3rd person singular

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśī Khaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gopī-Govinda-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn, a pilgrim bathes in a small tīrtha east of a Govinda shrine; after emerging, they offer tulasī and flowers to Govinda while faint silhouettes of gopīs in devotional dance are suggested as a spiritual overlay.

Characters & Entities

• Gopī-Govinda-tīrtha
• Gopī-Govinda
• Viṣṇu
• snāna
• arcana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion expressed through tīrtha-bathing and heartfelt worship culminates in intimacy with the Divine—being ‘dear to Viṣṇu’.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gopī-Govinda-tīrtha, located east of the Gopī-Govinda deity/shrine.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) followed by proper worship/arcana (samabhyarcya) of Viṣṇu.