Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

तीर्थान्मंदाकिनी नाम्नो द्विजाः पाशुपतव्रताः । शिवैकाराधनपराः समेता अयुतोन्मिताः

Transliteration

tīrthānmaṃdākinī nāmno dvijāḥ pāśupatavratāḥ | śivaikārādhanaparāḥ sametā ayutonmitāḥ

Translation

自名为曼达吉尼(Mandākinī)的圣地而来诸二生者，守持帕修帕塔誓戒(Pāśupata-vrata)，唯以礼敬湿婆(Śiva)为志，聚集成众，数达一万。

Word by Word

• तीर्थात्: from the tīrtha
• तीर्थात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

• मन्दाकिनी: Mandākinī (river)
• मन्दाकिनी: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition to तीर्थात्: the Mandākinī)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्दाकिनी (प्रातिपदिक; नदी-नाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• नाम्नः: by name / named
• नाम्नः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• द्विजाः: Brahmins / twice-born
• द्विजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• पाशुपत-व्रताः: observing the Pāśupata vow
• पाशुपत-व्रताः: Visheshana (Qualifier of द्विजाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाशुपत + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पाशुपतस्य व्रतम्)

• शिव-एक-आराधन-पराः: devoted solely to the worship of Śiva
• शिव-एक-आराधन-पराः: Visheshana (Qualifier of द्विजाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिव + एक + आराधन + पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासार्थः: शिवस्य एकम् आराधनम् एव यस्य तत्परः (मुख्यतः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-प्रधान)

• समेताः: assembled, gathered
• समेताः: Visheshana (State of the group)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + इ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि/कर्तरि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• अयुत-उन्मिताः: numbering ten thousand
• अयुत-उन्मिताः: Visheshana (Quantifier of द्विजाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अयुत + उन्मित (प्रातिपदिक; √मा/मि ‘to measure’ with उपसर्ग उत्, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (अयुतेन उन्मिताः = measured as ten-thousand)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mandākinī

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ten thousand dvijas, marked with ash (bhasma), rudrākṣa garlands, carrying tridents/staffs, moving in disciplined lines from Mandākinī tīrtha toward Kāśī; their faces show fierce resolve and devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Śiva
• Mandākinī Tīrtha
• Pāśupata Vrata
• Dvijas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Single-minded devotion (ekāgrā bhakti) to Śiva, strengthened by vrata-discipline, is praised as a hallmark of true pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Mandākinī tīrtha, presented as a source-region from which Pāśupata devotees journey toward Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The Pāśupata-vrata is referenced as the defining discipline of these devotees, though its details are not enumerated here.