Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

तत्र कूपं विधायैकममृतोदमिति स्मृतम् । यस्यांबुपानस्नानाभ्यां नरोऽज्ञातात्प्रमुच्यते

Transliteration

tatra kūpaṃ vidhāyaikamamṛtodamiti smṛtam | yasyāṃbupānasnānābhyāṃ naro'jñātātpramucyate

Translation

Là, il fit creuser un puits, connu sous le nom d’Amṛtodaka. En buvant son eau et en s’y baignant, l’homme est délivré même des fautes commises à son insu.

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.