Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा पूजयेद्बलकेशवौ । तेन देवो जगद्धाता पूजितस्त्रिगुणात्मवान्

Transliteration

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā pūjayedbalakeśavau | tena devo jagaddhātā pūjitastriguṇātmavān

Translation

ณ ตีรถะนั้น ผู้ใดอาบน้ำชำระแล้วบูชาพระพล (บาละ) และพระเกศวะ ผู้นั้นย่อมได้บูชาพระผู้ทรงค้ำจุนโลก ผู้มีสภาวะแห่งสามคุณโดยแท้

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचकः

• तीर्थे: at the sacred place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपातः

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रत्ययः

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund), पूर्वकालिक-क्रिया

• पूजयेत्: should worship
• पूजयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/Potential), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• बलकेशवौ: Bala and Keśava
• बलकेशवौ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बल (प्रातिपदिक) + केशव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः

• तेन: by him/thereby
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; (by him/thereby)

• देवः: the god
• देवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जगद्धाता: the sustainer of the world
• जगद्धाता: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + धातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जगतः धाता)

• पूजितः: is worshipped
• पूजितः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पूज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-भावः (is worshipped/has been worshipped)

• त्रिगुणात्मवान्: whose nature is of the three guṇas
• त्रिगुणात्मवान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (संख्या) + गुण (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (तद्धित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (यस्य आत्मा त्रिगुणः सः)

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bala-Keśava-tīrtha (implied)

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotee emerges from sacred waters, dripping, then approaches a small shrine with twin icons—Balarāma with plough and Kṛṣṇa with peacock-feather—offering flowers and tulasī; the deity’s aura expands as ‘jagaddhātā’.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha
• Bala
• Keśava
• Jagaddhātā (Lord as world-sustainer)
• Tri-guṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is completed through both purification (snāna) and devotion (pūjā); worship at a tīrtha is worship of the cosmic Lord.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha associated with Bala-Keśava in the Yodhanīpura narrative of Revā Khaṇḍa, Adhyāya 142.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (holy bathing) followed by pūjā (worship) of Bala and Keśava.