Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

सर्वाण्यपि च तीर्थानि युगपत्तुलितान्यपि । नाधिजन्मुः पंचनद्याः कलाया अपि तुल्यताम्

Transliteration

sarvāṇyapi ca tīrthāni yugapattulitānyapi | nādhijanmuḥ paṃcanadyāḥ kalāyā api tulyatām

Translation

Dẫu đem tất cả các thánh địa (tīrtha) cân đo cùng một lúc, cũng không thể đạt đến sự ngang bằng với dù chỉ một phần nhỏ công đức và vinh quang của Pañcanadā.

Word by Word

• sarvāṇi: all
• sarvāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• api: even; also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• tīrthāni: holy places; pilgrim-fords
• tīrthāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• yugapat: simultaneously
• yugapat: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yugapat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of simultaneity)

• tulitāni: weighed; compared
• tulitāni: Karta (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tul (तुल् धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• adhijanmuḥ: surpassed; exceeded
• adhijanmuḥ: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: adhi-jan (जन् धातु) + luṅ (लुङ्)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; उपसर्गः—अधि

• paṃcanadyāḥ: of Pañcanadī (the five-river confluence)
• paṃcanadyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃca-nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (पञ्च + नदी)

• kalāyāḥ: of a fraction/part (kalā)
• kalāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• tulyatām: equality; equivalence
• tulyatām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tulya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; भाववाचक (state/quality)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pañcanadā

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic ‘cosmic scale’ weighing all tīrthas on one side, while a small shining droplet labeled Pañcanadā’s ‘kalā’ outweighs them—set against Kāśī’s ghats and river.

Characters & Entities

• Pañcanadā (Pañcanada Tīrtha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional geography has hierarchies: some tīrthas are presented as uniquely potent beyond ordinary comparison.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Pañcanadā/Pañcanada Tīrtha in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite here; it is a superlative claim establishing Pañcanada’s unmatched tīrtha-status.