Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

ज्येष्ठवाप्यां नरः स्नात्वा तर्पयित्वा पितामहान् । ज्येष्ठेश्वरं समालोक्य न भूयो जायते भुवि

Transliteration

jyeṣṭhavāpyāṃ naraḥ snātvā tarpayitvā pitāmahān | jyeṣṭheśvaraṃ samālokya na bhūyo jāyate bhuvi

Translation

Nachdem ein Mensch im Jyeṣṭha-Teich gebadet und den Ahnen Tarpaṇa dargebracht hat, wird er, wenn er Jyeṣṭheśvara erblickt, nicht wieder auf Erden geboren.

Word by Word

• ज्येष्ठवाप्याम्: in the Jyeṣṭha-pond
• ज्येष्ठवाप्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्येष्ठ + वापी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ज्येष्ठायाः वापी)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund): 'having bathed'

• तर्पयित्वा: having satisfied (with offerings)
• तर्पयित्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तृप्/तर्पय् (धातु; णिच्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund): causative (णिच्) 'having satisfied/offered libations'

• पितामहान्: the grandfathers; ancestors
• पितामहान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन

• ज्येष्ठेश्वरम्: Jyeṣṭheśvara (Śiva)
• ज्येष्ठेश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्येष्ठ + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ज्येष्ठस्य ईश्वरः)

• समालोक्य: having seen
• समालोक्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम् + आलोक् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund): 'having beheld'

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation)

• भूयः: again
• भूयः: Adhikarana (Manner/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूयस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरर्थक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: 'again')

• जायते: is born
• जायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• भुवि: on earth; in the world
• भुवि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक: भुव्/भुवि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśī-khaṇḍa context, Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jyeṣṭha-vāpī and Jyeṣṭheśvara

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim bathes in a stone-lined tank at dawn, then stands at the water’s edge offering tarpaṇa with cupped hands; afterward, the pilgrim approaches the Jyeṣṭheśvara shrine with wet hair and folded palms.

Characters & Entities

• Jyeṣṭhavāpī
• Jyeṣṭheśvara
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage integrates dharma (ancestral rites) with devotion (Śiva-darśana), culminating in liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jyeṣṭhavāpī (the Jyeṣṭha tank) and the nearby Jyeṣṭheśvara liṅga in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathe in Jyeṣṭhavāpī, perform tarpaṇa for the ancestors, and take darśana of Jyeṣṭheśvara.