Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

जन्मांतरकृतैर्दानैस्तपोभिर्नियमैर्व्रतैः । इह जन्मनि गंगायां नृणां भक्तिः प्रजायते

Transliteration

janmāṃtarakṛtairdānaistapobhirniyamairvrataiḥ | iha janmani gaṃgāyāṃ nṛṇāṃ bhaktiḥ prajāyate

Translation

മുൻജന്മങ്ങളിൽ ചെയ്ത ദാനം, തപസ്, നിയമം, വ്രതം എന്നിവയുടെ ഫലമായിട്ടാണ് ഈ ജന്മത്തിൽ മനുഷ്യർക്കു ഗംഗയോടുള്ള ഭക്തി ഉദിക്കുന്നത്.

Word by Word

• जन्मान्तरकृतैः: done in a previous birth
• जन्मान्तरकृतैः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत (कृदन्त; √कृ (धातु))
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—सप्तमी/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जन्मान्तरे कृतैः)

• दानैः: by gifts/charities
• दानैः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• तपोभिः: by austerities
• तपोभिः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• नियमैः: by observances
• नियमैः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नियम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• व्रतैः: by vows
• व्रतैः: Hetu (Cause/हेtu)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• इह: here (in this life)
• इह: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देश/कालवाचक (here/in this life)

• जन्मनि: in (this) birth
• जन्मनि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अधिकरण

• गङ्गायाम्: in/for the Ganga
• गङ्गायाम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विषय/अधिकरण (towards/in regard to)

• नृणाम्: of men/people
• नृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• भक्तिः: devotion
• भक्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रजायते: arises/is born
• प्रजायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जन् (धातु) उपसर्ग-प्र
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at the Gaṅgā feels spontaneous tears and reverence; behind him, faint layered silhouettes of past-life acts—giving alms, performing tapas, observing vratas—appear like translucent memories culminating in present Gaṅgā-bhakti.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion is not accidental; it is the fruition of accumulated dharma from prior lives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā as the object of devotion and purifier-tīrtha in Kāśī Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

General dharmic practices are named—dāna, tapas, niyama, and vrata—as causes that mature into Gaṅgā-bhakti.