Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

ते हन्यमाना न्यपतंस्तस्मिन्कुंडे नभोंगणात् । आयुःशेषेण संत्राता हंसीभूतास्तु वायसाः

Transliteration

te hanyamānā nyapataṃstasminkuṃḍe nabhoṃgaṇāt | āyuḥśeṣeṇa saṃtrātā haṃsībhūtāstu vāyasāḥ

Translation

เมื่อถูกตีทำร้าย พวกมันร่วงจากเวหาสลงสู่สระศักดิ์สิทธิ์นั้น ด้วยเศษอายุที่ยังเหลือจึงรอดพ้น และอีกาทั้งหลายก็กลายเป็นหงส์โดยแท้

Word by Word

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• hanyamānāḥ: being attacked
• hanyamānāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: han (धातु) +्यमान (कृत्)
• Form: वर्तमानकर्मणि कृदन्त (present passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘being killed/struck’

• nyapatan: fell down
• nyapatan: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni + pat (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), प्रथमा-पुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘they fell down’

• tasmin: in that
• tasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• kuṇḍe: in the pond/pit
• kuṇḍe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• nabhaḥ-gaṇāt: from the host of the sky (from the air)
• nabhaḥ-gaṇāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nabhas + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; ‘नभसः गणः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; ablative singular

• āyuḥśeṣeṇa: by the remainder of life-span
• āyuḥśeṣeṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyus + śeṣa (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; ‘आयुषः शेषः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; instrumental singular

• saṃtrātāḥ: saved
• saṃtrātāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + trā (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘protected/saved’

• haṃsībhūtāḥ: having become (like) swans
• haṃsībhūtāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: haṃsī + bhūta (प्रातिपदिक; समास/कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त ‘bhūta’ (become), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘हंसी इव/हंसीरूपेण भूताः’ (having become like swans)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोधार्थक (particle)

• vāyasāḥ: crows
• vāyasāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī-khaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Haṃsatīrtha (kuṇḍa)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya is addressed in the surrounding verses (Kalaśodbhava)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Crows struck in midair plunge into a radiant pond; upon touching the water they emerge as white swans, wings spread, water droplets sparkling; the pond glows with sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Kuṇḍa
• Haṃsa (swan)
• Vāyasa (crow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contact with a powerful tīrtha can rapidly purify and elevate even fallen beings, symbolized by the crow’s transformation into a swan.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The kuṇḍa that becomes famed as Haṃsatīrtha, associated with Kṛttivāsa/Kṛttivāseśvara in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, entering/immersing in the tīrtha (snāna or contact with its waters) is presented as purificatory.