Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

ज्ञानवापीमुपस्पृश्य नंदिकेशं ततोर्चयेत् । तारकेशं ततोभ्यर्च्य महाकालेश्वरं ततः

Transliteration

jñānavāpīmupaspṛśya naṃdikeśaṃ tatorcayet | tārakeśaṃ tatobhyarcya mahākāleśvaraṃ tataḥ

Translation

Nachdem man die Wasser von Jñānavāpī berührt und sich rituell gereinigt (Ācamana) hat, soll man Nandikeśa verehren; sodann, nachdem man Tārakeśa verehrt hat, danach Mahākāleśvara.

Word by Word

• ज्ञानवापीम्: Jñānavāpī (the knowledge-well)
• ज्ञानवापीम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान-वापी (प्रातिपदिक; ज्ञान + वापी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म; षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष—‘ज्ञानस्य वापी’

• उपस्पृश्य: having touched
• उपस्पृश्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप + स्पृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive); धातु—स्पृश् (to touch) उपसर्ग—उप; अर्थः—‘स्पृष्ट्वा’

• नंदिकेशम्: Nandikeśa
• नंदिकेशम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दि-केश (प्रातिपदिक; नन्दि + केश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म; नामसमास

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरवाचक (thereafter)

• अर्चयेत्: should worship
• अर्चयेत्: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; धातु—अर्च् (to worship)

• तारकेशम्: Tārakeśa
• तारकेशम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तारक-ईश (प्रातिपदिक; तारक + ईश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म; तत्पुरुष—‘तारकः ईशः’/नाम

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरवाचक

• अभ्यर्च्य: having worshipped
• अभ्यर्च्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि + अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive); धातु—अर्च् (to worship) उपसर्ग—अभि; अर्थः—‘अभ्यर्चनं कृत्वा’

• महाकालेश्वरम्: Mahākāleśvara
• महाकालेश्वरम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाकाल-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; महाकाल + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष—‘महाकालस्य ईश्वरः’

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरवाचक

Speaker

Vyāsa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jñānavāpī

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the stone-lined Jñānavāpī well, a pilgrim touches water to head and lips; then offers bilva leaves and flowers at a Nandin shrine, proceeds to a liṅga of Tārakeśa, and finally to a fierce yet benevolent Mahākāleśvara liṅga with lamps flickering in a dim sanctum.

Characters & Entities

• Jñānavāpī
• Nandikeśa
• Tārakeśa
• Mahākāleśvara
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification and worship proceed together: sacred water-contact (tīrtha) is followed by ordered devotion to Śiva’s forms within Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jñānavāpī is the named tīrtha, and the linked Śaiva shrines Nandikeśa, Tārakeśa, and Mahākāleśvara are highlighted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upaspṛśya (ritual contact/cleansing) at Jñānavāpī, then arcana (worship) to Nandikeśa, Tārakeśa, and Mahākāleśvara in sequence.