Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 99

Devanagari script

श्रुताभिलषिता दृष्टा स्पृष्टा पीताऽवगाहिता । पुंसां वंशद्वयं गंगा तारयेन्नात्र संशयः

Transliteration

śrutābhilaṣitā dṛṣṭā spṛṣṭā pītā'vagāhitā | puṃsāṃ vaṃśadvayaṃ gaṃgā tārayennātra saṃśayaḥ

Translation

若闻恒河之名、心生向往、得见其流、亲手触之、饮其圣水，或入河沐浴——恒河能度脱男子父系与母系两族；对此毫无疑惑。

Word by Word

• श्रुता: heard of
• श्रुता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रु (धातु) → श्रुत (क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; ‘गङ्गा’ इति विशेषणम्

• अभिलषिता: desired
• अभिलषिता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अभि-लष् (धातु) → अभिलषित (क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; ‘गङ्गा’ इति विशेषणम्

• दृष्टा: seen
• दृष्टा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृश् (धातु) → दृष्ट (क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; ‘गङ्गा’ इति विशेषणम्

• स्पृष्टा: touched
• स्पृष्टा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्पृश् (धातु) → स्पृष्ट (क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; ‘गङ्गा’ इति विशेषणम्

• पीता: drunk
• पीता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पा (धातु) → पीत (क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; ‘गङ्गा’ इति विशेषणम्

• अवगाहिता: bathed in/immersed in
• अवगाहिता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव-गाह् (धातु) → अवगाहित (क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; ‘गङ्गा’ इति विशेषणम्

• पुंसाम्: of men
• पुंसाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुंस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन (Plural)

• वंशद्वयम्: two lineages (both lines)
• वंशद्वयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वंश (प्रातिपदिक) + द्वय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (Singular); द्विगु-समासः (संख्यापूर्वपद: ‘two lineages’)

• गङ्गा: Ganga
• गङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular)

• तारयेत्: would ferry across/save
• तारयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तॄ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); परस्मैपदम्

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation)

• अत्र: here/in this matter
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb: ‘here/in this matter’)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Bhāgīrathī/Jāhnavī)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sequence tableau along Kāśī ghats: (1) sages reciting Gaṅgā-glory to listeners (śravaṇa), (2) a devotee yearning with folded hands (abhilaṣa), (3) pilgrims seeing the river at sunrise (darśana), (4) touching water (sparśa), (5) sipping from cupped palms (pāna), (6) bathing (avagāhana); behind them, ancestral silhouettes are lifted upward in light, signifying deliverance of both lineages.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even minimal contact or devotion to Gaṅgā—through hearing to bathing—has salvific power extending beyond the individual to ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā-tīrtha, especially as encountered in Kāśī through darśana, sparśa, pāna, and snāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana (seeing), sparśa (touching), pāna (drinking), and avagāha (bathing/immersion) in Gaṅgā are explicitly listed.