Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

दत्तात्रेयेश्वरं तीर्थं तत्रैवादिगदाधरः । पितॄन्संतर्प्य तत्रैव ज्ञानयोगमवाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

dattātreyeśvaraṃ tīrthaṃ tatraivādigadādharaḥ | pitṝnsaṃtarpya tatraiva jñānayogamavāpnuyāt

Translation

Dort ist das tīrtha des Dattātreyeśvara, und dortselbst weilt Ādi‑Gadādhara. Wer dort die Pitṛs (Ahnen) sättigt, erlangt den Yoga der geistigen Erkenntnis.

Word by Word

• दत्तात्रेयेश्वरम्: (the) Lord Dattātreya (as epithet)
• दत्तात्रेयेश्वरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दत्तात्रेय + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दत्तात्रेयस्य ईश्वरः)

• तीर्थम्: sacred ford
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थानवाचक

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण

• आदिगदाधरः: Ādi-Gadādhara
• आदिगदाधरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदि + गदाधर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘primeval mace-bearer’)

• पितॄन्: the ancestors
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन

• संतर्प्य: having satisfied
• संतर्प्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + तृप् (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘having satisfied/propitiated’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थानवाचक

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण

• ज्ञानयोगम्: the yoga of knowledge
• ज्ञानयोगम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान + योग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (ज्ञानस्य योगः / knowledge-yoga)

• अवाप्नुयात्: would attain
• अवाप्नुयात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśī Khaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dattātreyeśvara-tīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kāśī-māhātmya audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tranquil tīrtha beside a small shrine of Dattātreyeśvara; nearby stands Ādi-Gadādhara (Viṣṇu holding mace). A pilgrim offers tarpaṇa to pitṛs, then sits in meditation, suggesting jñāna-yoga arising from fulfilled duty.

Characters & Entities

• Dattātreyeśvara-tīrtha
• Ādi-Gadādhara
• Pitṛs
• jñānayoga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma toward ancestors (tarpaṇa) and devotion at a tīrtha are portrayed as supports for awakening spiritual knowledge.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dattātreyeśvara-tīrtha, together with the presence of Ādi-Gadādhara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Satisfying the Pitṛs—i.e., tarpaṇa/ancestral offerings—performed at this sacred place.