Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

तीर्थं तत्रैव संस्थाप्य जगामाकाशमुत्तमम् । तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा पूजयेत्पितृदेवताः

Transliteration

tīrthaṃ tatraiva saṃsthāpya jagāmākāśamuttamam | tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā pūjayetpitṛdevatāḥ

Translation

Nachdem er dort selbst das Tīrtha eingesetzt hatte, ging er in die höchsten Himmel. Und wer in eben diesem Tīrtha badet und die Gottheiten der Ahnen (Pitṛs) verehrt…

Word by Word

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford/pilgrimage spot
• तीर्थम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Emphasis (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण/निश्चयार्थ)

• संस्थाप्य: having established
• संस्थाप्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + स्थाप् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्-अव्ययकृदन्त), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; ‘having established’

• जगाम: went
• जगाम: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘went’

• आकाशम्: to the sky
• आकाशम्: Karman (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• उत्तमम्: excellent/supreme
• उत्तमम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying आकाशम्)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक)

• तीर्थे: at the tīrtha
• तीर्थे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विरोध/अन्वयार्थ-निपात)

• यः: whoever (he who)
• यः: Karta (Subject of implied action/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक (relative pronoun)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्-अव्ययकृदन्त; ‘having bathed’

• पूजयेत्: should worship
• पूजयेत्: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘should worship’

• पितृदेवताः: the deities of the ancestors (pitṛ-deities)
• पितृदेवताः: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: पितॄणां देवताः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pratiṣṭhita-tīrtha at Kanakeśvara/Kanakeśvarī (implied)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Garuḍa consecrates a tīrtha (symbolic installation: placing a marker, invoking waters, or establishing a shrine), then ascends skyward; pilgrims later bathe and offer pitṛ worship with water-libations and sesame.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha
• Pitṛ-devatāḥ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-bathing joined with reverence for ancestors integrates personal purity with gratitude and dharmic continuity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The newly established tīrtha in the Revā-khaṇḍa associated with the preceding Kanakeśvarī context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna at the tīrtha and worship of pitṛ-devatās (ancestral rites).