Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 100

Devanagari script

कीर्तनाद्दर्शनात्स्पर्शाद्गंगापानावगाहनात् । दशोत्तरगुणा ज्ञेया पुण्यापुण्यर्द्धिनाशयोः

Transliteration

kīrtanāddarśanātsparśādgaṃgāpānāvagāhanāt | daśottaraguṇā jñeyā puṇyāpuṇyarddhināśayoḥ

Translation

由称颂恒河、瞻礼恒河、触及恒河，以及饮其圣水并入河沐浴——当知由此功德增长、罪垢消灭，皆成十倍乃至更胜。

Word by Word

• कीर्तनात्: from/through chanting (praise/recitation)
• कीर्तनात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कीर्तन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन; Ablative singular (from/through)

• दर्शनात्: from/through seeing (darśana)
• दर्शनात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Ablative singular

• स्पर्शात्: from/through touch
• स्पर्शात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Ablative singular

• गङ्गापानावगाहनात्: from/through drinking and bathing/immersion in the Gaṅgā
• गङ्गापानावगाहनात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + पान (प्रातिपदिक) + अवगाहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी/सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषभावः (गङ्गायाः पानं च अवगाहनं च इति); Ablative singular

• दशोत्तरगुणाः: tenfold-plus (i.e., elevenfold)
• दशोत्तरगुणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशोत्तर (प्रातिपदिक) + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (दशोत्तराः गुणाः = ten-plus-fold qualities); Nominative plural

• ज्ञेयाः: to be known (as)
• ज्ञेयाः: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृसमाना)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु) → ज्ञेय (कृदन्त, भाव्य/विधेय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कृदन्तः—तव्यत्/यत्-प्रत्ययार्थः ‘to be known/should be known’; Nominative plural

• पुण्यापुण्यर्द्धिनाशयोः: of the increase of merit and the destruction of demerit
• पुण्यापुण्यर्द्धिनाशयोः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अपुण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + ऋद्धि (प्रातिपदिक) + नाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्वसमास (पुण्यापुण्य) + तत्पुरुष/द्वन्द्वभाव (ऋद्धि-नाश); द्विवचन/बहुवचनार्थे समाहारः; षष्ठी-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; Genitive dual ‘of (the) increase and destruction’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Jāhnavī) in Kāśī

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages (e.g., Śaunaka’s assembly) and within Kāśī-khaṇḍa: Agastya as questioner later

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at a Kāśī ghat performs sequential acts—singing Gaṅgā’s praise, gazing at the flowing river, touching the water, sipping from cupped hands, and immersing—while priests and lamps frame the sacred riverfront.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even simple contact with the Gaṅgā—praise, sight, touch, drinking, or bathing—multiplies merit and destroys sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā as a supreme tīrtha, especially in the Kāśī context of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Kīrtana (praise), darśana (viewing), sparśa (touch), pāna (drinking), and avagāhana/snānā (bathing/immersion) in the Gaṅgā.