Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

बंदीतीर्थस्तु तत्रैव महानिगडखंडनम् । तत्र स्नातो विमुच्येत सर्वस्मात्कर्मपाशतः

Transliteration

baṃdītīrthastu tatraiva mahānigaḍakhaṃḍanam | tatra snāto vimucyeta sarvasmātkarmapāśataḥ

Translation

وہیں بندی تیرتھ ہے، جو عظیم بیڑیوں کو توڑنے والا ہے؛ جو وہاں اشنان کرے وہ ہر طرح کے کرم پاش کے جال سے پوری طرح آزاد ہو جاتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• बंदीतीर्थः: the Bandī-tīrtha (sacred ford named Bandī)
• बंदीतीर्थः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बंदी-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; बंदी + तीर्थ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (बंदी-सम्बन्धि तीर्थः)

• तु: indeed, and
• तु: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात/समुच्चयार्थ-विशेषक (particle: ‘but/indeed’)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb: ‘there’)

• एव: just, indeed
• एव: Sambandha/Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• महा: great
• महा: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्राय उपसर्गवत् पूर्वपद; विशेषणार्थे (as pre-adjectival ‘great’)

• निगड: shackle, fetter
• निगड: Samasa-anga (समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निगड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक; समासाङ्ग (component: ‘shackle/fetter’)

• खण्डनम्: breaking, destruction
• खण्डनम्: Vidheyam/Predicate nominative (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खण्डन (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-भाववाचक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; धातु √खण्ड् (छेदने) + ल्युट् (action noun)

• महा-निगड-खण्डनम्: the great breaker of fetters
• महा-निगड-खण्डनम्: Vidheyam/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + निगड + खण्डन (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘महद् निगडखण्डनम्’ = great shackle-breaking)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• स्नातः: having bathed
• स्नातः: Karta (कर्ता; implied ‘he who has bathed’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √स्ना (स्नाने) (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘स्नातः’ = having bathed

• विमुच्येत: would be freed
• विमुच्येत: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + √मुच् (मोचने) (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; ‘would be released’

• सर्वस्मात्: from all
• सर्वस्मात्: Apadana (अपादान/Source)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-शब्द

• कर्मपाशतः: from the bond of karma
• कर्मपाशतः: Apadana (अपादान/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्म-पाश (प्रातिपदिक; कर्म + पाश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘कर्मणः पाशः’ = bond of karma)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bandī Tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim descends stone steps into a small sacred water-body/ghat labeled Bandī Tīrtha; subtle imagery of broken iron shackles dissolving into the water as dawn light falls on Kāśī’s skyline and temple spires.

Characters & Entities

• Bandī Tīrtha
• Karma-pāśa (karmic bondage)
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are framed as instruments of grace that cut karmic bondage; liberation is linked to purity, faith, and tīrtha-sevā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bandī Tīrtha, explicitly praised as the ‘breaker of fetters’.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna at Bandī Tīrtha for release from karma-pāśa.