Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

तस्यैवान्वयवान्राजा भविष्यति भगीरथः । स ज्ञातिकारणाद्गंगां ब्रह्मांडादानयिष्यति

Transliteration

tasyaivānvayavānrājā bhaviṣyati bhagīrathaḥ | sa jñātikāraṇādgaṃgāṃ brahmāṃḍādānayiṣyati

Translation

അവന്റെ തന്നെ വംശത്തിൽ ഭഗീരഥൻ എന്ന രാജാവ് ജനിക്കും. തന്റെ ബന്ധുക്കളുടെ കാരണാർത്ഥം ഗംഗയെ ബ്രഹ്മാണ്ഡലോകത്തിൽ നിന്ന് അവൻ അവതരിപ്പിക്കും.

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• एव: indeed, only
• एव: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (only/indeed)

• अन्वयवान्: having (his) lineage
• अन्वयवान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्वय (प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; वत्-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण (having lineage/descendants)

• राजा: king
• राजा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• भविष्यति: will be
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• भगीरथः: Bhagīratha
• भगीरथः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगीरथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ज्ञातिकारणात्: because of (his) kinsmen (cause)
• ज्ञातिकारणात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञाति (प्रातिपदिक) + कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ज्ञातीनां कारणम्)

• गङ्गाम्: the Ganges
• गङ्गाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• ब्रह्माण्डात्: from the Brahmāṇḍa (cosmic sphere)
• ब्रह्माण्डात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्माण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन

• आनयिष्यति: will bring
• आनयिष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-नी (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhāgīrathī/Śrī Gaṅgā (descent episode)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bhagīratha, austere king-sage, performs intense tapas; above, Gaṅgā descends as a luminous torrent from Brahmā’s sphere, with celestial beings watching; the scene foreshadows her earthly course for ancestral redemption.

Characters & Entities

• Bhagīratha
• Gaṅgā
• Sagara (lineage reference)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion and perseverance in service of one’s ancestors and community becomes a world-renewing act—Bhagīratha’s dharma turns into sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā is the central tīrtha, celebrated as a heavenly river brought to earth for purification and ancestral uplift.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implies pitṛ-focused purpose (jñāti-kāraṇa), aligning with śrāddha and ancestral rites, though it does not specify procedures.