Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

तवाग्रतो मम जरा पलितं च यथाविधि । एतत्कूपोदपानेन क्षणान्नष्टं नवोऽभवम्

Transliteration

tavāgrato mama jarā palitaṃ ca yathāvidhi | etatkūpodapānena kṣaṇānnaṣṭaṃ navo'bhavam

Translation

أمام عينيك، شيخوختي وشيب شعري—كما كانا قد ظهرا—زالا في لحظة بشرب ماء هذا البئر؛ فعُدتُ فتيًّا من جديد.

Word by Word

• तव: of you/your
• तव: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• अग्रतः: in front (of)
• अग्रतः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अग्रतः (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• मम: my/of me
• मम: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• जरा: old age
• जरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• पलितम्: grey hair/hoariness
• पलितम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पलित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• यथा: as/according to
• यथा: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपमान/प्रकारवाचक (manner: as/according to)

• विधि: rule/ritual procedure
• विधि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• कूप-उदपानेन: by the well and the water-reservoir
• कूप-उदपानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूप (प्रातिपदिक) + उदपान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (copulative), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• क्षणात्: in a moment/instantly
• क्षणात्: Apadana (Source/अपाादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• नष्टम्: vanished/was destroyed
• नष्टम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु) → नष्ट (कृदन्त-भूतकृत्)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थ (passive sense: 'was destroyed/vanished')

• नवः: new/young
• नवः: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying the speaker implied)

• अभवम्: I became
• अभवम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator within Skanda’s Kāśī Māhātmya discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vṛddhakāleśvara-kūpa/udapāna (well associated with Vṛddhakāleśvara)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A venerable devotee drinks from a stone-lined well near a Śiva precinct; grey hair and wrinkles vanish instantly as onlookers witness the transformation, with Kāśī’s ghāṭa skyline faintly behind.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• kūpa (sacred well)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sacred waters are portrayed as instantly purifying and renewing, symbolizing the power of tīrtha-grace to remove decay and restore spiritual vitality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sacred well (kūpa/udapāna) associated with the Kāśī sacred landscape in the Vṛddhakāleśvara context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Drinking the water of the sacred well as a tīrtha-act (tīrtha-sevana).