Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

अनेकजन्मनियुतं भ्राम्यमाणस्तु योनिषु । निर्वृतिं प्राप्नुयात्कोत्र जाह्नवीभजनं विना

Transliteration

anekajanmaniyutaṃ bhrāmyamāṇastu yoniṣu | nirvṛtiṃ prāpnuyātkotra jāhnavībhajanaṃ vinā

Translation

Errant de matrice en matrice durant d’innombrables naissances, où donc pourrait-on atteindre la paix sans la dévotion adorante envers Jāhnavī (la Gaṅgā) ?

Word by Word

• अनेकजन्मनियुतम्: endowed with many births
• अनेकजन्मनियुतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनेक + जन्म + नियुत (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (अनेकानि जन्मानि) + (जन्मनां नियुतम् = युतम्/युक्तम्) ; विशेषणम् (अध्याहृतं ‘जीवम्/नरम्’)

• भ्राम्यमाणः: wandering / being made to wander
• भ्राम्यमाणः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि/आत्मनेपदे शानच् (present participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अर्थे कर्मणि/कर्तरि (being made to wander / wandering)

• तु: indeed / but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधान/विरोधार्थक (but/indeed)

• योनिषु: in wombs / in births
• योनिषु: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), बहुवचन

• निर्वृतिम्: cessation / bliss
• निर्वृतिम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• प्राप्नुयात्: might attain
• प्राप्नुयात्: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्ग: प्र-

• कः: who
• कः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (interrogative pronoun)

• उत्र: here (in this matter)
• उत्र: Desha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: here/there)

• जाह्नवीभजनम्: worship of Jahnavi (Ganga)
• जाह्नवीभजनम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाह्नवी + भजन (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (जाह्नव्याः भजनम्)

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (Exclusion)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: वियोगार्थक-अव्यय (without); सह सामान्यतः तृतीया, अत्र तु द्वितीया-सम्बन्धः (भजनम् विना)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A soul depicted as a traveler moving through symbolic womb-doors across lifetimes, finally turning toward the radiant Gaṅgā where peace is attainable through worship.

Characters & Entities

• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Saṃsāra is prolonged by forgetfulness; devotion to Gaṅgā (Jāhnavī) is praised as a direct means to inner release and peace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jāhnavī/Gaṅgā, especially as encountered in the Kāśī-kṣetra narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bhajana (devotional worship/adoration) of Gaṅgā is recommended; no detailed procedure is specified.