Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

ततो ज्ञानहदं तीर्थं जडानामपि जाड्यहृत् । तत्र स्नातो नरो जातु ज्ञानभ्रंशं न चाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

tato jñānahadaṃ tīrthaṃ jaḍānāmapi jāḍyahṛt | tatra snāto naro jātu jñānabhraṃśaṃ na cāpnuyāt

Translation

അതിനുശേഷം ‘ജ്ഞാനഹദ’ എന്ന തീർത്ഥമുണ്ട്; അത് ജഡന്മാരുടേയും ജഡത്വം നീക്കുന്നു. അവിടെ സ്നാനം ചെയ്യുന്ന മനുഷ്യന് ഒരിക്കലും ജ്ഞാനഭ്രംശം സംഭവിക്കില്ല.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then; thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्-अर्थे (thereafter/from there)

• jñānahadam: the ‘knowledge-lake’
• jñānahadam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jñāna-hada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषण; तत्पुरुष-समास (ज्ञानस्य हदः)

• tīrtham: holy place
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• jaḍānām: of the dull-witted
• jaḍānām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• jāḍyahṛt: remover of dullness
• jāḍyahṛt: Karta (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāḍya-hṛt (हृ धातु/हृत्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; विशेषण; तत्पुरुष-समास (जाड्यं हरति इति)

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

• snātaḥ: having bathed
• snātaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: snā (स्ना धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• jātu: ever
• jātu: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jātu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक

• jñānabhraṃśam: loss of knowledge
• jñānabhraṃśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna-bhraṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (ज्ञानस्य भ्रंशः)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अन्वय (and)

• āpnuyāt: would attain; would incur
• āpnuyāt: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (आप् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jñāna-hada (Jñāna-hrada)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tranquil pond labeled Jñāna-hada, lotus-covered, with a sage guiding a hesitant, dull-looking pilgrim into the water; as he bathes, a dark veil lifts from his head, revealing a bright aura and a palm-leaf manuscript.

Characters & Entities

• Jñāna-hada Tīrtha
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is not only for merit but for inner clarity: tīrthas are portrayed as curing ignorance and stabilizing wisdom.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jñāna-hada Tīrtha (Pool of Knowledge) in the Kāśī sacred region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) at Jñāna-hada to prevent ‘jñāna-bhraṃśa’ (decline of knowledge).