Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 60

Devanagari script

यदावभृथसिस्रासुर्भवेयं द्विजसत्तम । तदा विप्रपदांभोभिरभिषेकं करोम्यहम्

Transliteration

yadāvabhṛthasisrāsurbhaveyaṃ dvijasattama | tadā viprapadāṃbhobhirabhiṣekaṃ karomyaham

Translation

হে দ্বিজশ্রেষ্ঠ, যখন আমি অবভৃথ-স্নানের জন্য অগ্রসর হই, তখন ব্রাহ্মণদের পদপ্রক্ষালনের জল দিয়েই আমি নিজের অভিষেক করি।

Word by Word

• yadā: when
• yadā: Sambandha (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal conjunction: when)

• avabhṛtha-sisrāsuḥ: intending to go for the avabhṛtha-bath
• avabhṛtha-sisrāsuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: avabhṛtha (प्रातिपदिक) + sisrāsu (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √sṛ, desiderative/intentive)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष; ‘अवभृथं सिस्रासुः’ = intending to go for the avabhṛtha (final bath)

• bhaveyam: I should be/I would become
• bhaveyam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• dvija-sattama: O best of Brahmins
• dvija-sattama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th, Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (‘द्विजानां सत्तमः’)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Sambandha (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (then)

• vipra-pada-ambhobhiḥ: with the water of Brahmins’ feet
• vipra-pada-ambhobhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + pada (प्रातिपदिक) + ambhas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (अम्भस्), तृतीया (3rd, Instrumental), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष; ‘विप्रपदानाम् अम्भः’ = water (from washing) the Brahmins’ feet

• abhiṣekam: ablution/anointing
• abhiṣekam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhiṣeka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• karomi: I do/perform
• karomi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st, Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

A dharmaśīla king (addressing a Brāhmaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avabhṛtha-snānāṅga (yajña-concluding bath) in Kāśī context

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the end of a grand sacrifice, the king stands at a bathing pavilion holding a kalaśa; brāhmaṇas wash their feet into a vessel; the king pours that water over his head in abhiṣeka; yajña-śālā and extinguished fire altar behind.

Characters & Entities

• Avabhṛtha
• Brāhmaṇa (Vipra)
• Abhiṣeka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverence to the worthy (Brāhmaṇas) is treated as a sanctifying power equal to the heights of sacrifice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The practice is described within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s sacred Kāśī setting, emphasizing dharma in a tīrtha-centered worldview.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

At avabhṛtha time, the king uses vipra-pādāmbhaḥ (water from Brāhmaṇa feet) for abhiṣeka as an act of devotion and humility.