Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मणो वत्सरं पूर्णं रममाणोऽप्सरोगणैः । सुतीर्थमरणोपात्त पुण्यशेषेण वै पुनः

Transliteration

brahmaṇo vatsaraṃ pūrṇaṃ ramamāṇo'psarogaṇaiḥ | sutīrthamaraṇopātta puṇyaśeṣeṇa vai punaḥ

Translation

برہما کے ایک پورے سال تک، اپسراؤں کے گروہوں کے ساتھ کھیلتا اور لطف اندوز ہوتا رہے گا؛ پھر پاک تیرتھ میں مرنے سے حاصل شدہ باقی ماندہ پُنّیہ کے زور سے دوبارہ (لوٹے گا)۔

Word by Word

• brahmaṇaḥ: of Brahmā / of Brahman
• brahmaṇaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• vatsaram: a year
• vatsaram: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण/Duration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vatsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कालपरिमाण

• pūrṇam: full, complete
• pūrṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (to vatsaram)

• ramamāṇaḥ: enjoying, sporting
• ramamāṇaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ram (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्), आत्मनेपदी; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• apsarogaṇaiḥ: with groups of apsarases
• apsarogaṇaiḥ: Sahakārī (सहकारी/Association)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apsaras + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (apsarasāṃ gaṇaiḥ)

• sutīrtha-maraṇa-upātta: obtained through death at a good sacred ford
• sutīrtha-maraṇa-upātta: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of puṇyaśeṣeṇa/implicit state)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-tīrtha + maraṇa + upātta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; upātta = भूतकृदन्त (PPP of ā-√dā 'to obtain')

• puṇyaśeṣeṇa: by the remaining merit
• puṇyaśeṣeṇa: Karana (करण/Instrument; cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya-śeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (puṇyasya śeṣaḥ)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha-bodhaka (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/पुनरावृत्ति-वाचक-अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Gaṇas (continuing speech, deduced from preceding verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Su-tīrtha (implied Kāśī/Avimukta as the death-site in narrative arc)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: audience; within story: Śivaśarman is being informed by gaṇas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A celestial pleasure-garden: Śivaśarman amid apsarā-gaṇas under jeweled trees; above, a subtle hourglass/cosmic wheel indicating a ‘Brahmā-year’; in the distance, a path curving back toward earth symbolizing return by puṇya-śeṣa.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Apsaras

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-associated merit is portrayed as enduring and structured, yielding celestial enjoyment and further auspicious destiny through remaining puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

It praises “su-tīrtha” (an excellent holy place); within Kāśī-khaṇḍa, this points to the tīrtha-power of Kāśī and its sacred death traditions.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse highlights the spiritual potency (puṇya) connected with tīrtha-death (tīrtha-maraṇa).