Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

तीर्थान्मंदाकिनी नाम्नो द्विजाः पाशुपतव्रताः । शिवैकाराधनपराः समेता अयुतोन्मिताः

Transliteration

tīrthānmaṃdākinī nāmno dvijāḥ pāśupatavratāḥ | śivaikārādhanaparāḥ sametā ayutonmitāḥ

Translation

منداکنی نامی تیرتھ سے پاشوپت ورت کے پابند دِوِج بھکت آئے؛ جو صرف شیو کی عبادت میں یکسو تھے، اور دس ہزار کی جماعت میں جمع ہوئے۔

Word by Word

• तीर्थात्: from the tīrtha
• तीर्थात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

• मन्दाकिनी: Mandākinī (river)
• मन्दाकिनी: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition to तीर्थात्: the Mandākinī)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्दाकिनी (प्रातिपदिक; नदी-नाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• नाम्नः: by name / named
• नाम्नः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• द्विजाः: Brahmins / twice-born
• द्विजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• पाशुपत-व्रताः: observing the Pāśupata vow
• पाशुपत-व्रताः: Visheshana (Qualifier of द्विजाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाशुपत + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पाशुपतस्य व्रतम्)

• शिव-एक-आराधन-पराः: devoted solely to the worship of Śiva
• शिव-एक-आराधन-पराः: Visheshana (Qualifier of द्विजाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिव + एक + आराधन + पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासार्थः: शिवस्य एकम् आराधनम् एव यस्य तत्परः (मुख्यतः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-प्रधान)

• समेताः: assembled, gathered
• समेताः: Visheshana (State of the group)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + इ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि/कर्तरि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• अयुत-उन्मिताः: numbering ten thousand
• अयुत-उन्मिताः: Visheshana (Quantifier of द्विजाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अयुत + उन्मित (प्रातिपदिक; √मा/मि ‘to measure’ with उपसर्ग उत्, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (अयुतेन उन्मिताः = measured as ten-thousand)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mandākinī

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ten thousand dvijas, marked with ash (bhasma), rudrākṣa garlands, carrying tridents/staffs, moving in disciplined lines from Mandākinī tīrtha toward Kāśī; their faces show fierce resolve and devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Śiva
• Mandākinī Tīrtha
• Pāśupata Vrata
• Dvijas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Single-minded devotion (ekāgrā bhakti) to Śiva, strengthened by vrata-discipline, is praised as a hallmark of true pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Mandākinī tīrtha, presented as a source-region from which Pāśupata devotees journey toward Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The Pāśupata-vrata is referenced as the defining discipline of these devotees, though its details are not enumerated here.