Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

तद्याम्यां चक्रतीर्थं च पितॄणामपि दुर्लभम् । तत्रापि विहितश्राद्धो मुच्यते पैतृकादृणात्

Transliteration

tadyāmyāṃ cakratīrthaṃ ca pitṝṇāmapi durlabham | tatrāpi vihitaśrāddho mucyate paitṛkādṛṇāt

Translation

അതിന്റെ തെക്കുവശത്ത് പിതൃപുരുഷന്മാർക്കും ദുർലഭമായ ചക്രതീർത്ഥം ഉണ്ട്. അവിടെ വിധിപ്രകാരം ശ്രാദ്ധം ചെയ്താൽ പിതൃഋണത്തിൽ നിന്ന് മോചനം ലഭിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; (याम्याम् इति विशेषणम्)

• yāmyām: in the southern direction/region
• yāmyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yāmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; (दिशि/प्रदेशे)

• cakra-tīrtham: Cakra-tīrtha
• cakra-tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (चक्रस्य तीर्थम्)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/समुच्चयार्थक-निपात

• durlabham: hard to obtain/rare
• durlabham: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durlabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; (तीर्थम् इति विशेषणम्)

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

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अवधानार्थक

• vihita-śrāddhaḥ: one who has performed the prescribed śrāddha
• vihita-śrāddhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vihita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √dhā (धातु) with vi-) + śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (येन श्राद्धं विहितम्)

• mucyate: is freed
• mucyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √muc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive)

• paitṛkāt: ancestral
• paitṛkāt: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paitṛka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; (ṛṇāt इति विशेषणम्)

• ṛṇāt: from debt
• ṛṇāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cakra-tīrtha

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tīrtha marked by a discus (cakra) emblem; devotee performs śrāddha with piṇḍas and water; a symbolic chain labeled ‘pitṛ-ṛṇa’ breaks, indicating release.

Characters & Entities

• Cakra-tīrtha
• Pitṛs
• Pitṛ-ṛṇa (ancestral debt)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Fulfilling pitṛ-dharma through properly performed śrāddha removes the binding obligation of pitṛ-ṛṇa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Cakra-tīrtha, a revered spot in the Kāśī tīrtha network.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Vihita-śrāddha—performing śrāddha according to scriptural injunction at Cakra-tīrtha.