Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

गया गङ्गा कुरुक्षेत्रे नैमिषे पुष्करे तथा । तत्पुण्यं लभते पार्थ लोटणेश्वरदर्शनात्

Transliteration

gayā gaṅgā kurukṣetre naimiṣe puṣkare tathā | tatpuṇyaṃ labhate pārtha loṭaṇeśvaradarśanāt

Translation

O Pārtha, durch bloßes Darśana—heilige Schau und Besuch—von Loṭaṇeśvara erlangt man dasselbe Verdienst wie (durch Pilgerfahrt) nach Gayā, zur Gaṅgā, nach Kurukṣetra, nach Naimiṣa und auch nach Puṣkara.

Word by Word

• गया: Gayā (pilgrimage place)
• गया: Udāharaṇa (Example/Item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तीर्थनाम

• गङ्गा: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गा: Udāharaṇa (Example/Item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; नदी/तीर्थनाम

• कुरुक्षेत्रे: in Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रे: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुक्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; स्थानवाचक

• नैमिषे: in Naimiṣa
• नैमिषे: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैमिष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; स्थानवाचक

• पुष्करे: in Puṣkara
• पुष्करे: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; स्थानवाचक

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/तुल्यार्थक-अव्यय (likewise/and also)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Viśeṣaṇa-aṅga (Qualifier component)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (पूर्वपद)

• पुण्यम्: that merit
• पुण्यम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्-पुण्यम् = तादृशं पुण्यम्

• लभते: obtains
• लभते: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• पार्थ: O Pārtha
• पार्थ: Sambodhana (Vocative address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; संबोधन

• लोटणेश्वर: of Loṭaṇeśvara
• लोटणेश्वर: Sambandha-aṅga (Genitive component)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोटणेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; लोटण + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (पूर्वपद)

• दर्शनात्: from seeing (having darśana of)
• दर्शनात्: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; हेतौ/अपादानार्थे; लोटणेश्वर-दर्शनात् = लोटणेश्वरस्य दर्शनात्

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (to Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Loṭaṇeśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (Arjuna)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Loṭaṇeśvara shrine radiating five streams of light, each containing a vignette: Gayā piṇḍa-dāna, Gaṅgā snāna, Kurukṣetra dharma-yajña, Naimiṣa ṛṣi-satra, Puṣkara Brahmā worship—converging into one darśana.

Characters & Entities

• Gayā
• Gaṅgā
• Kurukṣetra
• Naimiṣāraṇya
• Puṣkara
• Loṭaṇeśvara
• Pārtha (epithet)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma elevates darśana itself as transformative, compressing vast pilgrimage merit into a single sanctified encounter.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Loṭaṇeśvara, a Śaiva tīrtha in the Revā Khaṇḍa itinerary.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana (visiting/seeing) Loṭaṇeśvara is presented as the key practice yielding multi-tīrtha merit.