Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

ततो वामनतीर्थं च विष्णुसान्निध्यहेतुकम् । तत्र श्राद्धविधानेन मुच्यते पितृजादृणात्

Transliteration

tato vāmanatīrthaṃ ca viṣṇusānnidhyahetukam | tatra śrāddhavidhānena mucyate pitṛjādṛṇāt

Translation

Kemudian datang Tīrtha Vāmana, sebab untuk meraih sānidhya (kedekatan suci) dengan Viṣṇu. Dengan melaksanakan tata cara śrāddha di sana, seseorang terlepas daripada hutang kewajiban terhadap para leluhur.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण: ‘thereafter’

• vāmanatīrtham: the Vāmana tīrtha
• vāmanatīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāmana (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (vāmanasya tīrtham)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• viṣṇu-sānnidhya-hetukam: causing/leading to Viṣṇu’s presence
• viṣṇu-sānnidhya-hetukam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + sānnidhya (प्रातिपदिक) + hetuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘viṣṇoḥ sānnidhyasya hetuḥ’—विशेषणम् (qualifying vāmanatīrtham)

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

• śrāddha-vidhānena: by the performance/rite of śrāddha
• śrāddha-vidhānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक) + vidhāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘śrāddhasya vidhānam’

• mucyate: is freed
• mucyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √muc मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive): ‘is released’

• pitṛ-ja-ṛṇāt: from the ancestral debt
• pitṛ-ja-ṛṇāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक) + ṛṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘pitṛbhyāṃ jātaṃ ṛṇam’ (debt arising from ancestors)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vāmana-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A quiet riverside platform with a small Vāmana icon; a householder performs śrāddha—piṇḍas on darbha, sesame and water offerings—while priests chant; Viṣṇu’s presence is suggested by conch and discus motifs.

Characters & Entities

• Vāmana-tīrtha
• Viṣṇu
• Śrāddha
• Pitṛ-ṛṇa
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes gratitude to one’s lineage; properly performed śrāddha at a sanctified site is presented as a purifier of ancestral obligations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vāmana-tīrtha in Kāśī, praised as granting Viṣṇu’s sānnidhya (divine proximity).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śrāddha-vidhāna—performing the prescribed ancestral offerings/rites at this tīrtha.