Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

सहस्रधारैः कलशैः स ईशानो घटोद्भव । सहस्रकृत्वः स्नपयामास संहृष्टमानसः

Transliteration

sahasradhāraiḥ kalaśaiḥ sa īśāno ghaṭodbhava | sahasrakṛtvaḥ snapayāmāsa saṃhṛṣṭamānasaḥ

Translation

ثم إنَّ إيشانا، يا مولودَ الجرّة (أغاستيا)، وقد امتلأ قلبُه سرورًا، أغسلَ الربَّ مرارًا وتكرارًا—بل ألفَ مرة—بجرارٍ تصبّ في ألفِ سيلٍ.

Word by Word

• sahasra-dhāraiḥ: with thousand streams
• sahasra-dhāraiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + dhārā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण — Feminine, Instrumental, Plural; adjectival

• kalaśaiḥ: with pots
• kalaśaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम — Masculine, Nominative, Singular; pronoun

• īśānaḥ: Īśāna (the Lord)
• īśānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ghaṭa-udbhava: O pot-born one
• ghaṭa-udbhava: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghaṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन, एकवचन — Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• sahasra-kṛtvaḥ: a thousand times
• sahasra-kṛtvaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛtvas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; संख्यावाचक-आवृत्तिवाचक (adverb of frequency) — Indeclinable adverb

• snapayāmāsa: bathed (caused to be bathed)
• snapayāmāsa: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snap (धातु) [causative] → snapayati; perfect/periphrastic? here लिट्-रूप (परस्मैपद)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative) — Perfect, 3rd person, Singular; causative ‘caused to bathe’

• saṃhṛṣṭa-mānasaḥ: with delighted mind
• saṃhṛṣṭa-mānasaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃ-√hṛṣ (धातु) + kta (कृत्) → saṃhṛṣṭa (कृदन्त) + mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) — Masculine, Nominative, Singular; past participle used adjectivally

Speaker

Narrative voice (Kāśī Khaṇḍa tradition: Skanda narrating to Agastya); verse addresses Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Śiva-sannidhi)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame; not explicit in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Īśāna stands before a Śiva-liṅga, orchestrating a spectacular abhiṣeka: hundreds of attendants pour from countless kalaśas, creating a curtain of water in a thousand streams; the worshipper’s face glows with exhilarated devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Īśāna
• Agastya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Joyful, repeated worship (especially ritual bathing/abhiṣeka) expresses intense devotion and invites divine grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The action occurs in the Kāśī setting of Adhyāya 33, which culminates in the fame of Śiva-tīrtha/Jñānoda.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāpana/abhiṣeka with many kalaśas (pitchers) and continuous streams (sahasradhārā).