Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

तदा भगीरथो राजा क्व क्व भागीरथी तदा । यदा विष्णुस्तपस्तेपे चक्रपुष्करिणी तटे

Transliteration

tadā bhagīratho rājā kva kva bhāgīrathī tadā | yadā viṣṇustapastepe cakrapuṣkariṇī taṭe

Translation

ในกาลนั้น พระราชาภคีรถอยู่ ณ ที่ใด และภาคีรถี (คงคา) อยู่ ณ ที่ใด—เมื่อพระวิษณุทรงบำเพ็ญตบะ ณ ฝั่งจักรปุษกรินี?

Word by Word

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kriya-vishesana (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (then)

• bhagīrathaḥ: Bhagiratha
• bhagīrathaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagīratha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• rājā: king
• rājā: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• kva: where?
• kva: Kriya-vishesana (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक देशवाचक अव्यय (where?)

• kva: where (again)
• kva: Kriya-vishesana (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरुक्ति (emphatic)

• bhāgīrathī: Bhagirathi (Ganga)
• bhāgīrathī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāgīrathī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kriya-vishesana (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय

• yadā: when
• yadā: Sambandha (Temporal clause marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक सम्बन्धबोधक अव्यय (when)

• viṣṇuḥ: Vishnu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन

• tepe: performed (austerity)
• tepe: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tap (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• cakra: wheel/discus
• cakra: Sambandha (Qualifier within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, समासाङ्ग (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषपूर्वपद)

• puṣkariṇī: the lotus-pond (named Cakrapuṣkariṇī)
• puṣkariṇī: Adhikarana (Location name)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣkariṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (cakrapuṣkariṇī)

• taṭe: on the bank
• taṭe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन

Speaker

Umā (continuing inquiry, inferred from immediate context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cakra-puṣkariṇī

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śiva

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred lotus-filled tank named Cakra-puṣkariṇī; Viṣṇu sits in austerity on its bank, radiant yet ascetic; in the distance, Bhagīratha and the flowing Bhāgīrathī are hinted as a temporal question—like a layered narrative map.

Characters & Entities

• Bhagīratha
• Bhāgīrathī (Gaṅgā)
• Viṣṇu
• Cakra-puṣkariṇī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred history is tied to sacred geography: events, persons, and rivers are mapped onto tīrthas to intensify pilgrimage faith.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Cakra-puṣkariṇī is explicitly named as a sacred waterbody associated with Viṣṇu’s tapas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it asks for historical-location clarification that supports tīrtha-māhātmya.