Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

भौमवारे यदा दर्शस्तदा यः श्राद्धदो नरः । केदारकुंडमासाद्य गयाश्राद्धेन किं ततः

Transliteration

bhaumavāre yadā darśastadā yaḥ śrāddhado naraḥ | kedārakuṃḍamāsādya gayāśrāddhena kiṃ tataḥ

Translation

当新月日（达尔沙，Darśa）恰逢星期二时，若有人到达凯达拉昆达（Kedārakuṇḍa）而行施祖祭（śrāddha），又何必再求那著名的伽耶祖祭（Gayā-śrāddha）呢？

Word by Word

• भौमवारे: on Tuesday
• भौमवारे: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भौमवार (भौम + वार)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचनम्; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषप्रायः (भौमः वारः = Tuesday)

• यदा: when
• यदा: Sambandha (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (when)

• दर्शः: the new-moon day (darśa)
• दर्शः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्श (दर्श-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्; अमावास्या/दर्श-तिथि (new-moon day)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Sambandha (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (then/at that time)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (यद्-सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्; सम्बन्धबोधक-यः (relative pronoun)

• श्राद्धदः: one who gives/performes śrāddha
• श्राद्धदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्धद (श्राद्ध + द)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (श्राद्धं ददाति इति)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (नर-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्

• केदारकुण्डम्: the Kedāra pool
• केदारकुण्डम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केदारकुण्ड (केदार + कुण्ड)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (केदारस्य कुण्डम्)

• आसाद्य: having reached
• आसाद्य: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ+सद् (सद्-धातु)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्यय (gerund): having reached/approached

• गया-श्राद्धेन: by (the merit of) the Gayā-śrāddha
• गया-श्राद्धेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया (गया-प्रातिपदिक) + श्राद्ध (श्राद्ध-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गयायां श्राद्धम्)

• किम्: what (need/point)?
• किम्: Sambandha (Interrogative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (किम्-सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; प्रश्नार्थक (what?)

• ततः: then/thereafter (in that case)
• ततः: Sambandha (Concluding particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (तद्-सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: ततः = तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् पञ्चमी-एकवचनरूपम्, अव्ययवत् (then/thereafter/from that)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī Khaṇḍa context: tīrtha-phala comparison motif)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedārakuṇḍa

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual calendar motif overlays the sacred pond: moonless night (Amāvasyā) with a Mars-red hue (Tuesday), a devotee performing śrāddha; in the background, Gayā is shown as a distant, now-unnecessary pilgrimage path.

Characters & Entities

• Kedārakuṇḍa
• Darśa (Amāvāsyā)
• Bhaumavāra (Tuesday)
• Śrāddha
• Gayā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kedārakuṇḍa is exalted as so efficacious for ancestor rites that it is compared favorably with even Gayā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedārakuṇḍa in Kāśī, with an explicit comparison to Gayā as a śrāddha center.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha at Kedārakuṇḍa specifically when Darśa (Amāvāsyā) coincides with Tuesday (Bhaumavāra).