Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

दानं तीर्थं दमस्तीर्थं संतोषस्तीर्थमुच्यते । ब्रह्मचर्यं परं तीर्थं तीर्थं च प्रियवादिता

Transliteration

dānaṃ tīrthaṃ damastīrthaṃ saṃtoṣastīrthamucyate | brahmacaryaṃ paraṃ tīrthaṃ tīrthaṃ ca priyavāditā

Translation

布施是圣渡（tīrtha），自制是圣渡，知足亦称圣渡；梵行（brahmacarya）是至上的圣渡，柔和悦人的言语亦是圣渡。

Word by Word

• दानम्: giving, charity
• दानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय

• तीर्थम्: a tīrtha
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय

• दमः: self-control
• दमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विधेय

• तीर्थम्: a tīrtha
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय

• संतोषः: contentment
• संतोषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संतोष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विधेय

• तीर्थम्: a tīrtha
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय

• उच्यते: is called
• उच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; ‘is said/called’

• ब्रह्मचर्यम्: celibacy, brahmacarya
• ब्रह्मचर्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म (प्रातिपदिक) + चर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मणः चर्यम्)

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying तीर्थम्)

• तीर्थम्: a tīrtha
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय

• तीर्थम्: a tīrtha
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय

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

• प्रियवादिता: pleasant speech, speaking kindly
• प्रियवादिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक) + वादिता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-भावः (प्रियं वदति इति/प्रियं वचनं यस्या सा) ‘pleasant speech’ as abstract noun

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (virtue-tīrtha teaching)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a Kāśī ghāṭa, a householder-pilgrim offers alms to a mendicant; beside them stand allegorical figures—Santoṣa with a full pot, Dama with a goad, Brahmacarya as a radiant ascetic, Priya-vāṇī as a veena-tongued muse—showing virtues as tīrthas.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Virtues like generosity, discipline, contentment, brahmacarya, and kind speech function as the real purifiers—equal to famed pilgrimage waters.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction belongs to Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī context, but it redirects the pilgrim to carry tīrtha within through conduct.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Practice dāna (charity) and brahmacarya; cultivate dama (restraint), saṃtoṣa (contentment), and priyavāditā (kind speech).