Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

जन्ममृत्युजराक्रांतसंसारातुरचेतसाम् । अज्ञाननाशकं नास्ति जटातीर्थादृते द्विजाः

Transliteration

janmamṛtyujarākrāṃtasaṃsārāturacetasām | ajñānanāśakaṃ nāsti jaṭātīrthādṛte dvijāḥ

Translation

O Zweimalgeborene, für Geister, die vom Saṃsāra bedrängt sind—von Geburt, Tod und Alter überwältigt—gibt es keinen Vernichter der Unwissenheit wie Jaṭātīrtha.

Word by Word

• जन्ममृत्युजराक्रान्तसंसारातुरचेतसाम्: of those whose minds are afflicted by saṃsāra, overrun by birth, death, and old age
• जन्ममृत्युजराक्रान्तसंसारातुरचेतसाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन्म-मृत्यु-जरा-आक्रान्त-संसार-आतुर-चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन; बहुपद-समासः (तत्पुरुषप्रधानः): जन्ममृत्युजराभिः आक्रान्तः संसारः, तेन आतुरं चेतः यस्य/येषाम्

• अज्ञाननाशकम्: a destroyer of ignorance
• अज्ञाननाशकम्: Karta (Subject of ‘is not’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अज्ञान-नाशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—अज्ञानस्य नाशकः

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (particle of negation)

• अस्ति: is/exists
• अस्ति: Kriya (Copula)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• जटातीर्थात्: from Jaṭā-tīrtha
• जटातीर्थात्: Apadana (Ablative: exception/source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जटा-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—जटायाः तीर्थम्

• ऋते: except/without
• ऋते: Upapada (Exceptive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ऋते (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपपद-प्रयोगः (preposition-like), ‘without/except’ (पञ्चमी-सह)

• द्विजाः: O twice-born (brāhmaṇas)
• द्विजाः: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे अपि (vocative sense)

Speaker

Sūta (contextual continuity from 20.1)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jaṭātīrtha

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvi-jāḥ (addressed audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A quiet tīrtha pool under open sky; a dvija addresses fellow seekers, pointing toward the waters of Jaṭātīrtha as a remedy for saṃsāra’s weariness; the atmosphere is austere and meditative.

Characters & Entities

• Jaṭātīrtha
• Dvijas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ignorance (ajñāna) is the root of saṃsāric suffering, and the Purāṇa extols a specific tīrtha as a powerful aid toward insight and liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jaṭātīrtha, praised as uniquely capable of destroying ignorance for those tormented by saṃsāra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit act is stated in this verse, but the implication follows the prior verse: approaching/serving the tīrtha, especially through snāna and pilgrimage.