Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

यः स्नात्वोत्तरवाहिन्यां याति विश्वे शदर्शने । श्रद्धया परया तस्य श्रेयसोंतो न विद्यते

Transliteration

yaḥ snātvottaravāhinyāṃ yāti viśve śadarśane | śraddhayā parayā tasya śreyasoṃto na vidyate

Translation

ผู้ใดอาบสนานในสายน้ำที่ไหลสู่ทิศเหนือ แล้วไปเฝ้าดर्शनพระวิศเวศะด้วยศรัทธาอันยิ่งใหญ่ ความเกษมสูงสุด (ศฺเรยัส) ของผู้นั้นย่อมไร้ขอบเขต

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-Kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; धातु—स्ना (स्नाने)

• उत्तरवाहिन्याम्: in the north-flowing (Gaṅgā)
• उत्तरवाहिन्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तरवाहिनी (प्रातिपदिक; उत्तर+वाहिनी, कर्मधारय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• याति: goes
• याति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; धातु—या (गत्यर्थ)

• विश्वेशदर्शने: to/at the sight (darśana) of Viśveśa
• विश्वेशदर्शने: Adhikarana (Purpose/occasion locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वेश (प्रातिपदिक; विश्व+ईश, तत्पुरुष) + दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; समासः—विश्वेश-दर्शन

• श्रद्धया: with faith
• श्रद्धया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रद्धा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• परया: supreme, intense
• परया: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; श्रद्धाया विशेषणम्

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• श्रेयसः: of welfare, of the highest good
• श्रेयसः: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रेयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• अन्तः: end, limit
• अन्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक निपात

• विद्यते: is found, exists
• विद्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; धातु—विद् (सत्तायाम्/लभे)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Uttaravāhinī Gaṅgā (Kāśī) + Viśveśa darśana

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Interlocutor seeking fruits of Kāśī rites (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dawn at an uttaravāhinī ghat: a devotee completes Gaṅgā snāna, water streaming, hands in añjali; then walks with wet hair and folded palms toward Viśveśvara, a luminous path connecting river to temple.

Characters & Entities

• Uttaravāhinī (Gaṅgā at Kāśī)
• Viśveśa (Viśveśvara)
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faith-filled Gaṅgā bathing and Śiva-darśana in Kāśī yields boundless spiritual uplift (śreyas).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Uttaravāhinī Gaṅgā at Kāśī and the darśana of Viśveśa (Viśveśvara).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna in the (north-flowing) Gaṅgā followed by darśana of Viśveśa with parā-śraddhā.