Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

गयायां पितृरूपेण स्वयमेव जनार्दनः । तं ध्यात्वा पुंडरीकाक्षं मुच्यते च ऋणत्रयात्

Transliteration

gayāyāṃ pitṛrūpeṇa svayameva janārdanaḥ | taṃ dhyātvā puṃḍarīkākṣaṃ mucyate ca ṛṇatrayāt

Translation

ഗയയിൽ സ്വയം ജനാർദനൻ പിതൃരൂപത്തിൽ വസിക്കുന്നു; ആ പുണ്ഡരീകാക്ഷനെ ധ്യാനിച്ചാൽ ത്രിവിധ ഋണത്തിൽ നിന്ന് മോചനം ലഭിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• गयायाम्: in Gayā
• गयायाम्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन (Fem., Loc., Sg.)

• पितृ-रूपेण: in the form of the ancestors
• पितृ-रूपेण: Karana (Manner/Instrumental of form)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: पितॄणां रूपम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neut., Instr., Sg.)

• स्वयम्: himself
• स्वयम्: Karta (Emphasis on agent)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphatic adverb: oneself)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चय/अवधारण particle)

• जनार्दनः: Janārdana (Viṣṇu)
• जनार्दनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनार्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Nom., Sg.)

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Acc., Sg.)

• ध्यात्वा: having meditated on
• ध्यात्वा: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund)

• पुण्डरीकाक्षम्: the lotus-eyed one
• पुण्डरीकाक्षम्: Karma (Object-apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्डरीक (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिसमास (पुण्डरीक इव अक्षिणी यस्य सः), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Acc., Sg.); तं इति सर्वनामस्य विशेषण/नाम

• मुच्यते: is freed
• मुच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive: is released)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• ऋण-त्रयात्: from the three debts
• ऋण-त्रयात्: Apādāna (Source/Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋण (प्रातिपदिक) + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ऋणानां त्रयम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neut., Abl., Sg.)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Dharmāraṇya Māhātmya narrative style within Skanda Purāṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gayā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gayā kṣetra with the Phalgu riverbank and Viṣṇu’s presence as pitṛ-rūpa; a devotee meditates on the lotus-eyed Lord, aura suggesting release from three debts.

Characters & Entities

• Gayā
• Janārdana
• Puṇḍarīkākṣa
• Pitṛs
• Ṛṇa-traya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Seeing the Divine in ancestral rites transforms duty into liberation, freeing one from foundational spiritual obligations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gayā, famed for pitṛ-kārya and Viṣṇu-centered ancestral liberation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Meditate on Janārdana (the Lotus-eyed Lord) at Gayā as part of the ancestral-liberation observance.