Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

तीर्थं तत्रैव संस्थाप्य जगामाकाशमुत्तमम् । तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा पूजयेत्पितृदेवताः

Transliteration

tīrthaṃ tatraiva saṃsthāpya jagāmākāśamuttamam | tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā pūjayetpitṛdevatāḥ

Translation

Ayant établi le tīrtha en ce lieu même, il s’en alla vers les cieux les plus élevés. Et quiconque se baigne à ce tīrtha et honore les divinités des ancêtres (pitṛ)…

Word by Word

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford/pilgrimage spot
• तीर्थम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Emphasis (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण/निश्चयार्थ)

• संस्थाप्य: having established
• संस्थाप्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + स्थाप् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्-अव्ययकृदन्त), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; ‘having established’

• जगाम: went
• जगाम: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘went’

• आकाशम्: to the sky
• आकाशम्: Karman (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• उत्तमम्: excellent/supreme
• उत्तमम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying आकाशम्)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक)

• तीर्थे: at the tīrtha
• तीर्थे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विरोध/अन्वयार्थ-निपात)

• यः: whoever (he who)
• यः: Karta (Subject of implied action/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक (relative pronoun)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्-अव्ययकृदन्त; ‘having bathed’

• पूजयेत्: should worship
• पूजयेत्: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘should worship’

• पितृदेवताः: the deities of the ancestors (pitṛ-deities)
• पितृदेवताः: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: पितॄणां देवताः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pratiṣṭhita-tīrtha at Kanakeśvara/Kanakeśvarī (implied)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Garuḍa consecrates a tīrtha (symbolic installation: placing a marker, invoking waters, or establishing a shrine), then ascends skyward; pilgrims later bathe and offer pitṛ worship with water-libations and sesame.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha
• Pitṛ-devatāḥ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-bathing joined with reverence for ancestors integrates personal purity with gratitude and dharmic continuity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The newly established tīrtha in the Revā-khaṇḍa associated with the preceding Kanakeśvarī context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna at the tīrtha and worship of pitṛ-devatās (ancestral rites).