Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा पूजयेद्बलकेशवौ । तेन देवो जगद्धाता पूजितस्त्रिगुणात्मवान्

Transliteration

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā pūjayedbalakeśavau | tena devo jagaddhātā pūjitastriguṇātmavān

Translation

En ce tīrtha, quiconque s’y baigne puis vénère Bala et Keśava, par lui est véritablement honoré le Dieu, Soutien du monde, dont l’être embrasse les trois guṇas.

Word by Word

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

• तीर्थे: at the sacred place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपातः

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रत्ययः

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund), पूर्वकालिक-क्रिया

• पूजयेत्: should worship
• पूजयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/Potential), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• बलकेशवौ: Bala and Keśava
• बलकेशवौ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बल (प्रातिपदिक) + केशव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः

• तेन: by him/thereby
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; (by him/thereby)

• देवः: the god
• देवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जगद्धाता: the sustainer of the world
• जगद्धाता: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + धातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जगतः धाता)

• पूजितः: is worshipped
• पूजितः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पूज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-भावः (is worshipped/has been worshipped)

• त्रिगुणात्मवान्: whose nature is of the three guṇas
• त्रिगुणात्मवान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (संख्या) + गुण (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (तद्धित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (यस्य आत्मा त्रिगुणः सः)

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bala-Keśava-tīrtha (implied)

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotee emerges from sacred waters, dripping, then approaches a small shrine with twin icons—Balarāma with plough and Kṛṣṇa with peacock-feather—offering flowers and tulasī; the deity’s aura expands as ‘jagaddhātā’.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha
• Bala
• Keśava
• Jagaddhātā (Lord as world-sustainer)
• Tri-guṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is completed through both purification (snāna) and devotion (pūjā); worship at a tīrtha is worship of the cosmic Lord.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha associated with Bala-Keśava in the Yodhanīpura narrative of Revā Khaṇḍa, Adhyāya 142.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (holy bathing) followed by pūjā (worship) of Bala and Keśava.