Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

वित्रस्तपापां त्रिदशैर्दुरापां गंगां सदापां भवपाशशापाम् । शिवाविमुक्ताममृतैकशुक्तिं भुक्ताविमुक्तानपरित्यजन्ति

Transliteration

vitrastapāpāṃ tridaśairdurāpāṃ gaṃgāṃ sadāpāṃ bhavapāśaśāpām | śivāvimuktāmamṛtaikaśuktiṃ bhuktāvimuktānaparityajanti

Translation

凡尝受其恩泽者，绝不舍离恒河（Gaṅgā）——罪业在她前战栗，连诸天亦难得亲近；她恒常赐生，诅咒世缚之绳；她名为“湿婆不弃者”（Śivāvimuktā），乃一枚盛满甘露的独一贝壳——也不舍离依止她的虔信者。

Word by Word

• vitrasta-pāpām: (Gaṅgā) from whom sins are terrified/removed
• vitrasta-pāpām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vitrasta (त्रस् धातु, क्त) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘पापं वित्रस्तं यस्याः सा’ (pāpa frightened away)

• tridaśaiḥ: by the gods
• tridaśaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tridaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• durāpām: hard to attain
• durāpām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• gaṃgām: Gaṅgā
• gaṃgām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• sadāpām: ever-flowing/ever-watery
• sadāpām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sadā (अव्यय) + āpa/āpaḥ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव—‘सदा आपः यस्याः’ (ever-watery)

• bhava-pāśa-śāpām: (Gaṅgā) the curse (destroyer) of saṃsāra-bondage
• bhava-pāśa-śāpām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक) + pāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + śāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—‘भवस्य पाशः’ इति, तस्य शापः (curse of the bondage of saṃsāra)

• śiva-avimuktām: not forsaken by Śiva
• śiva-avimuktām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + avimukta (मुच् धातु, क्त; नञ्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘शिवेन अविमुक्ता’ (not abandoned by Śiva)

• amṛta-eka-śuktim: the single shell containing nectar
• amṛta-eka-śuktim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + eka (प्रातिपदिक) + śukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—‘अमृतस्य एकः शुक्तिः’ (single oyster/shell of nectar; metaphor)

• bhukta-avimuktān: those who have experienced (it) and do not let go
• bhukta-avimuktān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhukta (भुज् धातु, क्त) + avimukta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; ‘भुक्ताः (अनुभूताः) अविमुक्ताः’ इति—काशी/गङ्गा-सेविनः (those who have enjoyed and are not released/leave)

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• parityajanti: abandon, give up
• parityajanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari√tyaj (त्यज् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Śivāvimuktā in Kāśī)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gaṅgā as a radiant goddess-river; sins personified as dark figures recoiling; devas watching from the sky; a pearl-like oyster shell overflowing with nectar symbolizing ‘amṛta-eka-śukti’; devotees gathered, inseparable from her.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Śiva
• Tridaśa (Devas)
• Avimukta (Kāśī epithet)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Gaṅgā and Kāśī’s Avimukta grace are portrayed as uniquely liberating; one who truly experiences them does not turn away from that refuge.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā in Kāśī/Avimukta-kṣetra—Gaṅgā as ‘Śivāvimuktā’ (never abandoned by Śiva).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit instruction is stated, but the verse strongly implies continued devotion/association with Gaṅgā—classically expressed through snāna, japa, and tīrtha-sevā.