Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

ततो ज्ञानहदं तीर्थं जडानामपि जाड्यहृत् । तत्र स्नातो नरो जातु ज्ञानभ्रंशं न चाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

tato jñānahadaṃ tīrthaṃ jaḍānāmapi jāḍyahṛt | tatra snāto naro jātu jñānabhraṃśaṃ na cāpnuyāt

Translation

ਫਿਰ ‘ਜ੍ਞਾਨਹਦ’ ਨਾਮ ਦਾ ਤੀਰਥ ਹੈ, ਜੋ ਜੜ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੀ ਵੀ ਜੜਤਾ ਹਰ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ। ਉੱਥੇ ਸਨਾਨ ਕੀਤਾ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਕਦੇ ਵੀ ਗਿਆਨ ਤੋਂ ਭ੍ਰੰਸ਼ ਨਹੀਂ ਪਾਂਦਾ।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then; thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्-अर्थे (thereafter/from there)

• jñānahadam: the ‘knowledge-lake’
• jñānahadam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jñāna-hada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषण; तत्पुरुष-समास (ज्ञानस्य हदः)

• tīrtham: holy place
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• jaḍānām: of the dull-witted
• jaḍānām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• jāḍyahṛt: remover of dullness
• jāḍyahṛt: Karta (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāḍya-hṛt (हृ धातु/हृत्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; विशेषण; तत्पुरुष-समास (जाड्यं हरति इति)

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

• snātaḥ: having bathed
• snātaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: snā (स्ना धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• jātu: ever
• jātu: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jātu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक

• jñānabhraṃśam: loss of knowledge
• jñānabhraṃśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna-bhraṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (ज्ञानस्य भ्रंशः)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अन्वय (and)

• āpnuyāt: would attain; would incur
• āpnuyāt: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (आप् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jñāna-hada (Jñāna-hrada)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tranquil pond labeled Jñāna-hada, lotus-covered, with a sage guiding a hesitant, dull-looking pilgrim into the water; as he bathes, a dark veil lifts from his head, revealing a bright aura and a palm-leaf manuscript.

Characters & Entities

• Jñāna-hada Tīrtha
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is not only for merit but for inner clarity: tīrthas are portrayed as curing ignorance and stabilizing wisdom.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jñāna-hada Tīrtha (Pool of Knowledge) in the Kāśī sacred region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) at Jñāna-hada to prevent ‘jñāna-bhraṃśa’ (decline of knowledge).