Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

अगस्त्य उवाच । अन्यच्छृणु महाभाग तीर्थं दुष्कृतिदुर्ल्लभम् । ऋणमोचनसंज्ञं तु सरयूतीरसंगतम्

Transliteration

agastya uvāca | anyacchṛṇu mahābhāga tīrthaṃ duṣkṛtidurllabham | ṛṇamocanasaṃjñaṃ tu sarayūtīrasaṃgatam

Translation

ฤๅษีอคัสตยะกล่าวว่า “โอ้ผู้มีบุญ จงฟังต่อไป—มีทีรถะอันยากจะเข้าถึงสำหรับผู้ทำบาป ชื่อว่า ‘ฤณโมจน’ ตั้งอยู่ชิดฝั่งแม่น้ำสรยู”

Word by Word

• अगस्त्यः: Agastya
• अगस्त्यः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अगस्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (√वच् धातु; लिट्)
• Form: लिट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• अन्यत्: another (matter)
• अन्यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (accusative singular; ‘another (thing)’)

• शृणु: listen
• शृणु: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (√श्रु धातु; लोट्)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• महाभाग: O fortunate one
• महाभाग: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान् भागः यस्य) संबोधन-रूप

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford/place
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (accusative singular)

• दुष्कृतिदुर्लभम्: hard to obtain for the sinful
• दुष्कृतिदुर्लभम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुष्कृति + दुर्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दुष्कृतिभिः दुर्लभम्)

• ऋणमोचनसंज्ञम्: named ‘Debt-release’
• ऋणमोचनसंज्ञम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऋणमोचन + संज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ऋणमोचन-इति संज्ञा यस्य)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषणार्थक (particle: but/indeed)

• सरयूतीरसंगतम्: situated on the bank of the Sarayū
• सरयूतीरसंगतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सरयू + तीर + संगत (√गम् धातु; क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (सरयू-तीरे संगतम् = joined/connected with Sarayū’s bank)

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ṛṇamocana-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Unnamed interlocutor addressed as ‘mahābhāga’ (likely a sage/disciple in the frame narrative)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya, seated as a venerable teacher, points toward the Sarayū’s luminous bank while describing the hidden/difficult-to-attain Ṛṇamocana-tīrtha; the river glows as a sanctifying boundary.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Ṛṇamocana-tīrtha
• Sarayū

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha is not merely a location but a moral invitation—access is framed as difficult for persistent wrongdoers and fruitful for sincere seekers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ṛṇamocana-tīrtha on the Sarayū riverbank in Ayodhyā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual yet; it introduces the tīrtha and its sanctifying character (details follow).