Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

तीर्थयात्रां प्रतिदिनं कुर्वन्नूनं सवत्सरम् । न प्राप सर्वतीर्थानि तीर्थं काश्यां तिलेतिले

Transliteration

tīrthayātrāṃ pratidinaṃ kurvannūnaṃ savatsaram | na prāpa sarvatīrthāni tīrthaṃ kāśyāṃ tiletile

Translation

اگر کوئی پورے ایک سال تک ہر روز تیرتھ یاترا کرے تب بھی سب تیرتھوں تک نہیں پہنچ سکتا؛ کیونکہ کاشی میں ذرّہ ذرّہ، تل تل میں تیرتھ موجود ہے۔

Word by Word

• तीर्थयात्राम्: pilgrimage to sacred places
• तीर्थयात्राम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + यात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: तीर्थस्य यात्रा (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• प्रतिदिनम्: daily
• प्रतिदिनम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रति (अव्यय/उपसर्ग) + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (adverb: every day)

• कुर्वन्: doing, performing
• कुर्वन्: Karta (Agent participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ऊनम्: surely, indeed
• ऊनम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ऊन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् क्रियाविशेषण-प्रयोगः (adverbial accusative: "certainly/indeed"; lit. "not less")

• सवत्सरम्: for a year
• सवत्सरम्: Adhikarana (Temporal extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्सर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; काल-अवधि (duration accusative: for a year)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation marker/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपातः

• प्राप: attained, reached
• प्राप: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार/परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; (epic usage: "attained")

• सर्वतीर्थानि: all sacred places
• सर्वतीर्थानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: सर्वाणि तीर्थानि (कर्मधारय); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford/place
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (locative)

• तिले: in each sesame-seed (i.e., at every tiny point)
• तिले: Adhikarana (Distributional location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोगः (reduplication)

• तिले: in each sesame-seed
• तिले: Adhikarana (Distributional location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-द्वितीयपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (tīrtha at every ‘tila’)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic Kāśī ghat-scape where every stone, step, and water ripple is subtly marked as a ‘tīrtha’, conveying infinite sacred points within one city.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Tīrtha (plural concept)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is depicted as saturated with sanctity—its holiness is not confined to a few spots but permeates the entire kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī as an all-encompassing tīrtha-field, containing countless tīrthas throughout the city.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tīrtha-yātrā is referenced generally (daily pilgrimage), but the verse stresses Kāśī’s inexhaustible number of holy sites rather than a specific rite.