Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

ततो वामनतीर्थं च विष्णुसान्निध्यहेतुकम् । तत्र श्राद्धविधानेन मुच्यते पितृजादृणात्

Transliteration

tato vāmanatīrthaṃ ca viṣṇusānnidhyahetukam | tatra śrāddhavidhānena mucyate pitṛjādṛṇāt

Translation

Then comes Vāmana-tīrtha, a means of attaining nearness to Viṣṇu’s presence. By performing the śrāddha rites there, one is freed from debts owed to the ancestors.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण: ‘thereafter’

• vāmanatīrtham: the Vāmana tīrtha
• vāmanatīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāmana (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (vāmanasya tīrtham)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• viṣṇu-sānnidhya-hetukam: causing/leading to Viṣṇu’s presence
• viṣṇu-sānnidhya-hetukam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + sānnidhya (प्रातिपदिक) + hetuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘viṣṇoḥ sānnidhyasya hetuḥ’—विशेषणम् (qualifying vāmanatīrtham)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• śrāddha-vidhānena: by the performance/rite of śrāddha
• śrāddha-vidhānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक) + vidhāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘śrāddhasya vidhānam’

• mucyate: is freed
• mucyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √muc मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive): ‘is released’

• pitṛ-ja-ṛṇāt: from the ancestral debt
• pitṛ-ja-ṛṇāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक) + ṛṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘pitṛbhyāṃ jātaṃ ṛṇam’ (debt arising from ancestors)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vāmana-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A quiet riverside platform with a small Vāmana icon; a householder performs śrāddha—piṇḍas on darbha, sesame and water offerings—while priests chant; Viṣṇu’s presence is suggested by conch and discus motifs.

Characters & Entities

• Vāmana-tīrtha
• Viṣṇu
• Śrāddha
• Pitṛ-ṛṇa
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes gratitude to one’s lineage; properly performed śrāddha at a sanctified site is presented as a purifier of ancestral obligations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vāmana-tīrtha in Kāśī, praised as granting Viṣṇu’s sānnidhya (divine proximity).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śrāddha-vidhāna—performing the prescribed ancestral offerings/rites at this tīrtha.