Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

कायकलेशकरैः पुंसां किं तपोभिः किमध्वरैः । किं वेदैः किमु वा शास्त्रैर्धनुष्कोट्यवलोकिनः

Transliteration

kāyakaleśakaraiḥ puṃsāṃ kiṃ tapobhiḥ kimadhvaraiḥ | kiṃ vedaiḥ kimu vā śāstrairdhanuṣkoṭyavalokinaḥ

Translation

สำหรับผู้ที่ทรมานกายด้วยตบะ จะต้องการตบะหรือยัญพิธีไปไย? จะต้องการพระเวทหรือศาสตราใด ๆ ไปไย สำหรับผู้ที่ได้เห็นธนุษโกฏิแล้ว

Word by Word

• kāya-kaleśa-karaiḥ: by those causing bodily hardship
• kāya-kaleśa-karaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāya (प्रातिपदिक) + kaleśa (प्रातिपदिक) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘कायकलेशं कुर्वन्ति’ इति (instrumental plural)

• puṃsām: of men
• puṃsām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṃs (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• kim: what (use)
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम—‘किम्?’ (what use?)

• tapobhiḥ: with austerities
• tapobhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन

• kim: what (use)
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• adhvaraiḥ: with sacrifices
• adhvaraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन

• kim: what (use)
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• vedaiḥ: with the Vedas
• vedaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन

• kim: what (use)
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• u: indeed/then
• u: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: u (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), प्रश्न/अनुनासिक-बलवर्धक

• vā: or
• vā: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive particle)

• śāstraiḥ: with treatises/scriptures
• śāstraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāstra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन

• dhanuṣkoṭi-avalokinaḥ: those who behold Dhanuṣkoṭi
• dhanuṣkoṭi-avalokinaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanuṣkoṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + avalokin (प्रातिपदिक; √lok (धातु) अवलोकने)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘धनुष्कोटिं अवलोकयन्ति’ इति—दर्शकाः

Speaker

Sūta (deduced, Setukhaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dhanuṣkoṭi

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim stands at the wind-swept sandspit of Dhanuṣkoṭi where sea meets sea, beholding a sacred marker of Rāma’s Setu; in the distance, a faint line of stones suggests the bridge toward Laṅkā; sages and ritual paraphernalia appear dimmed, emphasizing darśana over austerity.

Characters & Entities

• Dhanuṣkoṭi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage-darśana at Dhanuṣkoṭi is praised as a direct, superior means of merit compared to arduous austerities and ritual learning.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dhanuṣkoṭi Tīrtha, in the Setukhaṇḍa sacred landscape associated with Setu/Rāma’s bridge-region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific act is prescribed here; the emphasis is on the fruit of darśana (seeing) Dhanuṣkoṭi.