Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

गंगायां च सकृत्स्नातो हयमेधफलं लभेत् । तर्पयंश्च पितॄंस्तत्र तारयेन्नरकार्णवात्

Transliteration

gaṃgāyāṃ ca sakṛtsnāto hayamedhaphalaṃ labhet | tarpayaṃśca pitṝṃstatra tārayennarakārṇavāt

Translation

即便只在恒河（Gaṅgā）沐浴一次，也能获得马祭（Aśvamedha）之果；并在彼处为祖先行供水祭（tarpaṇa），可使其脱离地狱之海。

Word by Word

• गङ्गायाम्: in the Ganga
• गङ्गायाम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• सकृत्: once
• सकृत्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सकृत् (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/आवृत्तिवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: once)

• स्नातः: having bathed
• स्नातः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्ना (धातु) + त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (PPP) ‘having bathed’

• हयमेधफलम्: the fruit of the Aśvamedha sacrifice
• हयमेधफलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हयमेध + फल (प्रातिपदिके; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (हयमेधस्य फलम्)

• लभेत्: would obtain/should obtain
• लभेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• तर्पयन्: satisfying (offering libations to)
• तर्पयन्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृप् (धातु) + णिच् (causative)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle) परस्मैपदी; ‘satisfying’

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• पितॄन्: the ancestors
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• तारयेत्: would deliver/save
• तारयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तॄ (धातु) + णिच् (causative)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; णिजन्त (causative)

• नरकार्णवात्: from the ocean of hell
• नरकार्णवात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिके; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नरकस्य अर्णवः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim bathes in Gaṅgā at a Kāśī ghāṭa; beside him he offers tarpaṇa—water streams through fingers; above, ancestors appear relieved, rising from a dark ocean-like abyss into light.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Aśvamedha
• Pitṛ (ancestors)
• Naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Gaṅgā concentrates immense sacrificial merit; simple, sincere rites there can equal grand Vedic sacrifices and aid one’s ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā (especially the bathing and tarpaṇa context associated with Kāśī’s riverfront).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Sakṛt-snānā (bathing even once) in the Gaṅgā, and pitṛ-tarpaṇa (water oblations to ancestors) performed there.