Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

तदाप्रभृति तत्तीर्थं पादोदकमितीरितम् । पादौ यदादौ शुभदौ क्षालितौ पीतवाससा

Transliteration

tadāprabhṛti tattīrthaṃ pādodakamitīritam | pādau yadādau śubhadau kṣālitau pītavāsasā

Translation

Dès lors, ce gué sacré fut nommé « Pādodaka », car c’est là, au tout commencement, que furent lavés les pieds de bon augure de Pītavāsā—Viṣṇu, revêtu de jaune.

Word by Word

• tadā: then
• tadā: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb): "then/at that time"

• āprabhṛti: from then onward
• āprabhṛti: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: āprabhṛti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (postposition/adverb): "from (that time) onwards"

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular); विशेषण (demonstrative)

• tīrtham: holy ford/pilgrimage place
• tīrtham: Karma (Predicate nominative/नामधातु-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (neuter, nominative singular)

• pāda-udakam: water of (washing) the feet
• pāda-udakam: Karma (Apposition/सम्बोधन-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक) + udaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative): "पादस्य उदकम्"; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nom/acc sg)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/उद्धरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/इति-प्रयोग-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• īritam: is called/has been declared
• īritam: Kriya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: īr (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; "उक्तम्/प्रकीर्तितम्"

• pādau: (the two) feet
• pādau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन (masculine, nominative dual)

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन (masc, nom dual); सम्बन्धसूचक-यत् (relative pronoun)

• ādau: at first
• ādau: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचन-रूपेण अव्ययीभूत (locative used adverbially): "in the beginning/at first"

• śubhadau: auspicious
• śubhadau: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन (masc, nom dual); विशेषण

• kṣālitau: washed
• kṣālitau: Kriya (Predicate participle/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṣāl (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, past passive participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; "क्षालितौ" = washed

• pīta-vāsasā: with a yellow cloth/garment
• pīta-vāsasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pīta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + vāsas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय: "पीतं वासः"; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (instrumental singular); करण (by means of)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pādodaka-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Within the luminous Kāśī landscape, Viṣṇu (Pītavāsā) is shown washing auspicious feet at a small sacred ford; attendants hold a kalaśa; the water is highlighted as ‘pādodaka’ becoming a named tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Pādodaka-tīrtha
• Viṣṇu (Pītavāsā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha becomes supremely meritorious through divine contact—here, the washing of Viṣṇu’s feet sanctifies the place and gives it enduring sacred identity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Pādodaka-tīrtha in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), praised in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse explains the tīrtha’s naming through the act of washing the divine feet; it implies reverence for pādodaka as sanctifying water.