Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

तत्संन्निधौ गदातीर्थं विष्वगाधिनिबर्हणम् । तारणं च पितॄणां वै कारणं चैनसां क्षये

Transliteration

tatsaṃnnidhau gadātīrthaṃ viṣvagādhinibarhaṇam | tāraṇaṃ ca pitṝṇāṃ vai kāraṇaṃ cainasāṃ kṣaye

Translation

അതിന്റെ സമീപത്ത് ഗദാതീർത്ഥം ഉണ്ട്; അത് ആഴത്തിൽ പതിഞ്ഞ ക്ലേശങ്ങളെ നശിപ്പിക്കുന്നു. ഇത് പിതൃപുരുഷന്മാരുടെ താരണത്തിനും പാപക്ഷയത്തിനും യഥാർത്ഥ കാരണമാകുന്നു।

Word by Word

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

• saṃnidhau: in the vicinity/presence
• saṃnidhau: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃnidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

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

• viṣvag-ādhi-nibarhaṇam: remover of afflictions on all sides
• viṣvag-ādhi-nibarhaṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viṣvak/viṣvag (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + ādhi (प्रातिपदिक) + nibarhaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (विष्वगाधीनां निबर्हणम्)

• tāraṇam: deliverance, crossing over
• tāraṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• 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

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक-निपात (indeed)

• kāraṇam: cause, means
• kāraṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

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

• enasām: of sins
• enasām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: enas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• kṣaye: in the destruction (cessation)
• kṣaye: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gadā-tīrtha

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A mace (gadā) emblem by a small sacred pool near Cakra-tīrtha; devotee offers water; dark smoke-like ‘afflictions’ dissolve; pitṛs ascend on a light path, signifying deliverance.

Characters & Entities

• Gadā-tīrtha
• Cakra-tīrtha (implied by proximity)
• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A great tīrtha not only cleanses personal sin but also becomes a vehicle of upliftment for one’s ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gadā-tīrtha, situated near the previously mentioned tīrtha in the Kāśī region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

While not naming a single rite explicitly, it implies tīrtha-sevā such as snāna, tarpaṇa, and śrāddha aimed at pitṛ-tāraṇa and pāpa-kṣaya.