Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

तत्र कूपं विधायैकममृतोदमिति स्मृतम् । यस्यांबुपानस्नानाभ्यां नरोऽज्ञातात्प्रमुच्यते

Transliteration

tatra kūpaṃ vidhāyaikamamṛtodamiti smṛtam | yasyāṃbupānasnānābhyāṃ naro'jñātātpramucyate

Translation

Dort ließ er einen Brunnen anlegen, der als Amṛtodaka bekannt ist. Durch Trinken seines Wassers und Baden darin wird der Mensch selbst von unbekannten (unbewussten) Sünden befreit.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• कूपम्: a well
• कूपम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• विधाय: having made
• विधाय: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-√धा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having made/constructed’

• एकम्: one
• एकम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (कूपम्)

• अमृतोदम्: ‘Amṛtoda’ (nectar-giving)
• अमृतोदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमृत-उद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नामरूपेण (proper name of the well)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Marker/इति-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/नामनिर्देशार्थक (quotative particle)

• स्मृतम्: is known/called
• स्मृतम्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: कर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘is called/remembered’

• यस्यम्: in which
• यस्यम्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक ‘in which’

• अम्बुपानस्नानाभ्याम्: by water-drinking and bathing
• अम्बुपानस्नानाभ्याम्: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्बु-पान-स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), द्विवचन; ‘by drinking water and bathing’

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• अज्ञातात्: from unknown (sin)
• अज्ञातात्: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अज्ञात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन; ‘from the unknown (sin/offence)’

• प्रमुच्यते: is freed
• प्रमुच्यते: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः ‘is released’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context) to Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Amṛtodaka-kūpa

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-seekers asking for specific tīrtha fruits

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stone-lined sacred well labeled Amṛtodaka; pilgrims draw water with a rope and pot, sip reverently, and bathe; a subtle divine radiance rises from the water, suggesting unseen purification.

Characters & Entities

• Amṛtodaka-kūpa
• Avimukta (Kāśī)
• Soma (Candra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s tīrtha-waters embody purifying grace, removing even inadvertent faults.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Amṛtodaka-kūpa (the Amṛtodaka well) in Avimukta-Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tīrtha-snānā (bathing) and ambu-pāna (drinking the sacred water) at Amṛtodaka are prescribed for purification.