Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

अकृत्वा जाह्नवीस्नानमनवेक्ष्य जगत्पतिम् । तस्य संवसथं प्राप्तो भारवोढुर्धनंजयः

Transliteration

akṛtvā jāhnavīsnānamanavekṣya jagatpatim | tasya saṃvasathaṃ prāpto bhāravoḍhurdhanaṃjayaḥ

Translation

जाह्नवी (गंगा) येथे पवित्र स्नान न करता आणि जगत्पतीचे दर्शन न घेता, भार वाहणारा धनंजय आपल्या निवासस्थानी जाऊन पोहोचला।

Word by Word

• अकृत्वा: without doing
• अकृत्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), नञ्-पूर्वक (negative)

• जाह्नवी-स्नानम्: bath in the Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• जाह्नवी-स्नानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाह्नवी (प्रातिपदिक) + स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (जाह्नव्याः स्नानम्)

• अनवेक्ष्य: without looking at / without paying heed to
• अनवेक्ष्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-ईक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), नञ्-पूर्वक (negative)

• जगत्-पतिम्: the Lord of the world
• जगत्-पतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (जगतः पतिः)

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

• संवसथम्: dwelling-place / residence
• संवसथम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संवसथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• प्राप्तः: having reached / arrived
• प्राप्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• भार-वोढुः: the burden-bearer / porter
• भार-वोढुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भार (प्रातिपदिक) + वह् (धातु)
• Form: उ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (agent noun: वोढृ/वोढुः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (भारं वोढा)

• धनंजयः: Dhanañjaya (proper name)
• धनंजयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनंजय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन (नाम)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) in Kāśī; Jagatpati-darśana (Viśveśvara) implied

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A weary burden-bearer named Dhanañjaya returns home, having bypassed the Gaṅgā bath and the Lord’s darśana; the river and temple loom in the background as missed sanctities.

Characters & Entities

• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• Jagatpati (Lord of the World, likely Viśveśvara/Śiva in Kāśī)
• Dhanañjaya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kāśī, sacred duties—Gaṅgā bathing and darśana of the Lord—are portrayed as prior to worldly urgency; neglecting them signals spiritual forgetfulness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jāhnavī (the Gaṅgā) as the purifying river of Kāśī, along with the Lord of Kāśī (Jagatpati/Viśveśvara).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Gaṅgā-snān (Jāhnavī snāna) and darśana (beholding) of Jagatpati are implied as essential observances.