Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

खनित्वा तत्र चक्रेण रम्यां पुष्करिणीं हरिः । निजांगस्वेदसंदोह सलिलैस्तामपूरयत्

Transliteration

khanitvā tatra cakreṇa ramyāṃ puṣkariṇīṃ hariḥ | nijāṃgasvedasaṃdoha salilaistāmapūrayat

Translation

ณ ที่นั้น พระหริทรงใช้จักรสุทรรศนะขุดสระศักดิ์สิทธิ์อันงดงามขึ้น แล้วทรงเติมสระนั้นให้เต็มด้วยสายน้ำแห่งเหงื่อที่หลั่งไหลจากพระวรกายของพระองค์เอง

Word by Word

• खनित्वा: having dug
• खनित्वा: Kriya (पूर्वकर्म/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: खन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; धातु: खन् (to dig)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (स्थान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: स्थानवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• चक्रेण: with the discus
• चक्रेण: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• रम्याम्: beautiful
• रम्याम्: Karma (object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying)

• पुष्करिणीम्: a lotus-pond
• पुष्करिणीम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्करिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• हरिः: Hari (Vishnu)
• हरिः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• निजाङ्गस्वेदसंदोहसलिलैः: with the waters of the mass of sweat from his own body
• निजाङ्गस्वेदसंदोहसलिलैः: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निज + अङ्ग + स्वेद + संदोह + सलिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुष-प्रधान; षष्ठी/संबन्ध-बहुल): निजाङ्गस्य स्वेदस्य संदोहः (heap of sweat) तस्य सलिलानि (waters); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• ताम्: that (pond)
• ताम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अपूरयत्: filled
• अपूरयत्: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूर् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect/past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; causative sense in usage: ‘filled’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cakra-puṣkariṇī

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (typical) / in-text interlocutors (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Hari (Vishnu) stands at Kāśī’s sacred ground, whirling or pressing the Sudarśana-cakra to excavate a lotus-like tank; shimmering streams of sweat flow like crystal rivulets, filling the newly formed puṣkariṇī; the earth opens in concentric circles, lotuses begin to bloom.

Characters & Entities

• Hari
• Viṣṇu
• Cakra
• Cakra-puṣkariṇī
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True tapas sanctifies even the landscape—devotion becomes a source that creates tīrthas for the welfare of the world.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Cakra-puṣkariṇī, a sacred tank in the Kāśī-kṣetra tradition, formed by Viṣṇu’s cakra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the verse establishes the tīrtha’s divine origin, supporting later practices like snāna and worship at the tank.