Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

फल्गुतीर्थे नरः स्नात्वा संतर्प्य च पितामहान् । यत्फलं समवाप्नोति तदत्र श्राद्धकर्मणा

Transliteration

phalgutīrthe naraḥ snātvā saṃtarpya ca pitāmahān | yatphalaṃ samavāpnoti tadatra śrāddhakarmaṇā

Translation

人在法尔古圣渡处（Phalgu Tīrtha）沐浴并令祖先得满足而所得之功德，在此处只要行施罗达（śrāddha）之仪，亦能获得同等果报。

Word by Word

• फल्गुतीर्थे: at Phalgu-tīrtha
• फल्गुतीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल्गु-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; फल्गु + तीर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष (फल्गु-नामकं तीर्थम्)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Absolutive/Gerund), पूर्वक्रिया; ‘स्नात्वा’ = having bathed

• संतर्प्य: having satisfied
• संतर्प्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + तृप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Absolutive/Gerund), पूर्वक्रिया; ‘संतर्प्य’ = having satisfied (with offerings)

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

• पितामहान्: the forefathers/ancestors
• पितामहान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• यत्: which
• यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम (relative)

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• समवाप्नोति: obtains fully
• समवाप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; निर्देशक-सर्वनाम (correlative)

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• श्राद्धकर्मणा: by the rite of śrāddha
• श्राद्धकर्मणा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध-कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; श्राद्ध + कर्मन्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (श्राद्धस्य कर्म)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jñānoda/Jñānatīrtha (implied ‘atra’)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer figure within the khanda’s dialogue frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Kāśī courtyard/ghat-side śrāddha: performer seated on kuśa grass, offering piṇḍas and water-libations; faint overlay of Phalgu river imagery to show equivalence of fruit.

Characters & Entities

• Phalgu Tīrtha
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Śrāddha
• Kāśī (implied by section)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is affirmed as a supreme field for pitṛ-dharma, where śrāddha yields results comparable to famed ancestral pilgrimage sites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse references Phalgu Tīrtha (Gaya) for comparison, while asserting equivalent merit ‘here’ in the Kāśī tīrtha being described in Adhyāya 33.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śrāddha-karma and pitṛ-tarpaṇa (satisfying the ancestors).