Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

अत्र पूर्वं तु काकोलौ युध्यतौ खान्निपेततुः । पश्यतां तत्र संस्थानां हंसौ भूत्वा विनिर्गतौ

Transliteration

atra pūrvaṃ tu kākolau yudhyatau khānnipetatuḥ | paśyatāṃ tatra saṃsthānāṃ haṃsau bhūtvā vinirgatau

Translation

กาลก่อน ณ ที่นี้ อีกาสองตัวต่อสู้กันแล้วตกลงมาจากฟ้า ต่อหน้าผู้คนที่ชุมนุมอยู่ ทั้งสองกลับกลายเป็นหงส์แล้วจากไป

Word by Word

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Place/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: 'here')

• पूर्वम्: formerly
• पूर्वम्: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्वम् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: 'formerly/before')

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/अन्वयबोधक (particle: 'but/indeed')

• काकोलौ: two crows
• काकोलौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काकोल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन (dual)

• युध्यतौ: were fighting
• युध्यतौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: युध् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमा-पुरुष (3rd person), द्विवचन; 'they two fight'

• खात्: from the sky
• खात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादान (source)

• निपेततुः: fell down
• निपेततुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + पत् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमा-पुरुष (3rd), द्विवचन; 'they two fell down'

• पश्यताम्: of the onlookers
• पश्यताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पश् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle) का षष्ठी-बहुवचन (genitive plural) प्रयोग; 'of those who were watching'

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Place/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (there)

• संस्थानाम्: of those present/standing there
• संस्थानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संस्था (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (संस्थान् = 'standing/being present' as noun/adj used substantively), षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• हंसौ: two swans
• हंसौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हंस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund); 'having become'

• विनिर्गतौ: emerged/went forth
• विनिर्गतौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + निर् + गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle used in active sense); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; 'went out/emerged'

Speaker

Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa default narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Haṃsatīrtha / Harapāpa vicinity (contextual)

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience (ṛṣis/pilgrims)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two crows clash mid-air and fall; upon touching the sacred precinct they rise as radiant swans, while astonished onlookers witness the transformation near the waterside.

Characters & Entities

• Harapāpa (implied location: atra)
• Kāka (crows)
• Haṃsa (swans)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha’s purity can transform even degraded states into exalted ones—symbolizing inner purification and upliftment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to the same ‘here’ of the narrative—Harapāpa-hrada tīrtha in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the legend functions as a faith-strengthening proof of the tīrtha’s purifying power.