Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

जन्मांतरकृतैर्दानैस्तपोभिर्नियमैर्व्रतैः । इह जन्मनि गंगायां नृणां भक्तिः प्रजायते

Transliteration

janmāṃtarakṛtairdānaistapobhirniyamairvrataiḥ | iha janmani gaṃgāyāṃ nṛṇāṃ bhaktiḥ prajāyate

Translation

Durch Gaben, Askesen, Zuchtübungen und Gelübde, die in anderen Geburten vollbracht wurden, entsteht in diesem Leben bei den Menschen Hingabe zur Gaṅgā.

Word by Word

• जन्मान्तरकृतैः: done in a previous birth
• जन्मान्तरकृतैः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत (कृदन्त; √कृ (धातु))
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—सप्तमी/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जन्मान्तरे कृतैः)

• दानैः: by gifts/charities
• दानैः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• तपोभिः: by austerities
• तपोभिः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• नियमैः: by observances
• नियमैः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नियम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• व्रतैः: by vows
• व्रतैः: Hetu (Cause/हेtu)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• इह: here (in this life)
• इह: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देश/कालवाचक (here/in this life)

• जन्मनि: in (this) birth
• जन्मनि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अधिकरण

• गङ्गायाम्: in/for the Ganga
• गङ्गायाम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विषय/अधिकरण (towards/in regard to)

• नृणाम्: of men/people
• नृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• भक्तिः: devotion
• भक्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रजायते: arises/is born
• प्रजायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जन् (धातु) उपसर्ग-प्र
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at the Gaṅgā feels spontaneous tears and reverence; behind him, faint layered silhouettes of past-life acts—giving alms, performing tapas, observing vratas—appear like translucent memories culminating in present Gaṅgā-bhakti.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion is not accidental; it is the fruition of accumulated dharma from prior lives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā as the object of devotion and purifier-tīrtha in Kāśī Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

General dharmic practices are named—dāna, tapas, niyama, and vrata—as causes that mature into Gaṅgā-bhakti.