Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

तीर्थानां स हि सर्वेषां स्नानजं लभते फलम् । श्राद्धस्य करणाद्वापि वाजिमेधफलं द्विजाः

Transliteration

tīrthānāṃ sa hi sarveṣāṃ snānajaṃ labhate phalam | śrāddhasya karaṇādvāpi vājimedhaphalaṃ dvijāḥ

Translation

Wahrlich erlangt er die Frucht des heiligen Bades aller Tīrthas. Und durch die Vollziehung des Śrāddha zudem, o Zweimalgeborene, erreicht er Verdienst, das dem Aśvamedha-Opfer gleichkommt.

Word by Word

• तीर्थानाम्: of (all) sacred places
• तीर्थानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी); बहुवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा); एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• सर्वेषाम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी); बहुवचन; (विशेषणम्—तीर्थानाम्)

• स्नानजम्: born of bathing (i.e., bathing-produced)
• स्नानजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्नान + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया); एकवचन; (कर्मधारय-तत्पुरुषभावः: स्नानात् जातम्)

• लभते: obtains
• लभते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• फलम्: fruit, result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया); एकवचन

• श्राद्धस्य: of the śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी); एकवचन

• करणात्: from performing (by the act of doing)
• करणात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: करण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी); एकवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक-निपात (also/even)

• वाजिमेधफलम्: the fruit of the Aśvamedha sacrifice
• वाजिमेधफलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाजिमेध + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वाजिमेधस्य फलम्)

• द्विजाः: O twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा); बहुवचन; सम्बोधनार्थे (vocative-sense address)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śakreśvara-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijāḥ / dvijoत्तमāḥ (twice-born, addressed audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims at a sacred ford perform snāna; nearby, a śrāddha setting with darbha, piṇḍas, tilodaka, and brāhmaṇas seated; the tīrtha subtly radiates as ‘all tīrthas in one’.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrthas
• Snāna (ritual bath)
• Śrāddha
• Vājimedha/Aśvamedha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-bathing and pitṛ-rites can concentrate vast Vedic merit, making dharma accessible beyond large royal sacrifices.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bālamaṇḍana tīrtha (contextual ‘there’ from preceding verses).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform snāna at the tīrtha and conduct śrāddha; the promised fruits are ‘all-tīrtha snāna’ merit and Aśvamedha-equivalent merit.