Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

तीर्थस्नानपरानित्यं नित्यं देवपरायणाः । द्विजेषु नित्यं प्रणताः स्वनामाख्यानपूर्वकम्

Transliteration

tīrthasnānaparānityaṃ nityaṃ devaparāyaṇāḥ | dvijeṣu nityaṃ praṇatāḥ svanāmākhyānapūrvakam

Translation

وہ ہمیشہ تیرتھوں میں اسنان کی پابند، ہمیشہ دیوتاؤں کی بھکتی میں منہمک رہتی ہیں؛ اور برہمنوں کے سامنے برابر سجدۂ ادب کرتی ہیں، پہلے قاعدے کے مطابق اپنا نام بتا کر۔

Word by Word

• तीर्थ-स्नान-पराः: devoted to bathing at sacred places
• तीर्थ-स्नान-पराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + स्नान (प्रातिपदिक) + पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तीर्थस्नाने पराः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण नपुंसकलिङ्ग एकवचन प्रथमा/द्वितीया (adverbial accusative)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial use)

• देव-परायणाः: wholly devoted to the gods
• देव-परायणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + परायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (देवे परायणाः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• द्विजेषु: among/with respect to the twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial use)

• प्रणताः: bowed down, reverent
• प्रणताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-नम् (धातु) + त (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त/त-प्रत्ययान्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘bowed’

• स्व-नाम-आख्यान-पूर्वकम्: preceded by stating their own name
• स्व-नाम-आख्यान-पूर्वकम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + नाम (प्रातिपदिक) + आख्यान (प्रातिपदिक) + पूर्वक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग एकवचन प्रथमा/द्वितीया, क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā-tīrthas of Kāśī (ghāṭa-snāna)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-audience within the Purāṇic dialogue frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn on a Kāśī ghat, devotees descend steps into the Gaṅgā for snāna; afterward they stand with wet hair and folded hands before a group of brāhmaṇas, stating their names and offering pranāma; small shrines and lamps line the steps.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Tīrtha
• Deva
• Dvija (Brāhmaṇa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Daily tīrtha-bathing, devotion to the divine, and respectful humility to the learned are pillars of dharma in Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī as a city of tīrthas where regular snāna is praised as a dharmic discipline.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Regular tīrtha-snāna (ritual bathing) and daily devotion (deva-parāyaṇatā), along with respectful salutations to Brāhmaṇas.