Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

दत्तात्रेयेश्वराद्याम्यामहमादिगदाधरः । हरामि तत्र भक्तानां संसारगदसंचयम्

Transliteration

dattātreyeśvarādyāmyāmahamādigadādharaḥ | harāmi tatra bhaktānāṃ saṃsāragadasaṃcayam

Translation

Au sud de Dattātreyeśvara, Je suis Ādi-Gaḍādhara ; et là J’ôte aux dévots l’amas de la maladie qu’est l’existence dans le saṃsāra.

Word by Word

• दत्तात्रेयेश्वराद्याम्याम्: in (the tīrtha/region) Dattātreyeśvarādyāmyā
• दत्तात्रेयेश्वराद्याम्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दत्तात्रेय-ईश्वर-आदि-आम्य (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7 विभक्ति), एकवचन; देश/तीर्थ-विशेषणरूपेण; समासः (दत्तात्रेयेश्वरादि-आम्यायां)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1 विभक्ति), एकवचन

• आदिगदाधरः: Ādi-Gadādhara (prime mace-bearer)
• आदिगदाधरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदि-गदा-धर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1 विभक्ति), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (गदां धरति इति गदाधरः; आदि- इति विशेषणपूर्वपद)

• हरामि: I remove
• हरामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमाने), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

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

• भक्तानाम्: of devotees
• भक्तानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6 विभक्ति), बहुवचन

• संसारगदसंचयम्: the accumulation of worldly afflictions
• संसारगदसंचयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसार-गद-संचय (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (संसारस्य गदः; तस्य संचयः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context) speaking to Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ādi-Gaḍādhara-sthāna (near Dattātreyeśvara)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrims/devotees in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A shrine lane south of Dattātreyeśvara; Ādi-Gaḍādhara holds the mace; devotees appear weary, then serene as the ‘saṃsāra-illness’ lifts like a fever breaking.

Characters & Entities

• Dattātreyeśvara
• Ādi-Gaḍādhara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Saṃsāra is depicted as a disease, and bhakti at the sacred site is praised as the divine remedy that removes its accumulated suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A shrine/spot south of Dattātreyeśvara in Kāśī, where the deity is known as Ādi-Gaḍādhara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Devotional approach (bhakti) to Ādi-Gaḍādhara at that location; the verse emphasizes the resulting relief from saṃsāra-roga.