Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

यो वै पिलिपिला तीर्थे स्नात्वोत्तरवहांभसि । सरित्त्रयं महापुण्यं यत्र साक्षाद्वसेत्सदा

Transliteration

yo vai pilipilā tīrthe snātvottaravahāṃbhasi | sarittrayaṃ mahāpuṇyaṃ yatra sākṣādvasetsadā

Translation

جو کوئی پِلی پِلا تیرتھ میں، شمال کی طرف بہنے والی دھارا کے پانی میں اسنان کرے—وہاں تین مقدس ندیوں کا نہایت عظیم پُنّیہ والا سنگم ہمیشہ ظاہر طور پر قائم رہتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/निश्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/उपपद अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• pilipilā: Pilipilā (name of a tīrtha)
• pilipilā: Sambandha (Name/नाम)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pilipilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (तीर्थनाम), प्रथमा/संबोधन-एकवचन (contextually stem in toponym); तीर्थे इत्यनेन सह नामनिर्देशः

• tīrthe: at the sacred ford
• tīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकाल (having bathed)

• uttara-vahā-ambhasi: in the waters of Uttaravahā (river)
• uttara-vahā-ambhasi: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक) + vahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ambhas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: उत्तरवहायाः अम्भसि; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• sarit-trayam: the triad of rivers
• sarit-trayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarit (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास: तिस्रः सरितः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• mahā-puṇyam: greatly meritorious
• mahā-puṇyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; sarit-trayam इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• sākṣāt: directly, in person
• sākṣāt: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sākṣāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रत्यक्षार्थक (directly/in person)

• vaset: would dwell
• vaset: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vas (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pilipilā-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrow, north-flowing stream in Kāśī; as a pilgrim bathes, three luminous currents—symbolic Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and a third sacred river (often Sarasvatī by convention)—interweave visibly as colored ribbons of light beneath the surface.

Characters & Entities

• Pilipilā-tīrtha
• uttaravahā (north-flowing stream)
• sarit-traya (three rivers)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain Kāśī tīrthas are presented as embodying multiple pan-Indian sanctities, concentrating vast merit in one place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Pilipilā-tīrtha in Kāśī, associated with north-flowing waters and the ever-present ‘three rivers’ sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) at Pilipilā-tīrtha in the uttaravāhinī (north-flowing) waters.