Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

स्कंद उवाच । घटोद्भव महाप्राज्ञ शृणु पापप्रणोदिनीम् । ज्ञानवाप्याः समुत्पत्तिं कथ्यमानां मयाधुना

Transliteration

skaṃda uvāca | ghaṭodbhava mahāprājña śṛṇu pāpapraṇodinīm | jñānavāpyāḥ samutpattiṃ kathyamānāṃ mayādhunā

Translation

スカンダは言った。「壺より生まれし大賢者よ、聞け。今、罪を払い清めるジュニャーナヴァーピーの起源を、我が語ろう。」

Word by Word

• skaṃdaḥ: Skanda
• skaṃdaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skaṃda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ghaṭodbhava: O Pot-born (Agastya)
• ghaṭodbhava: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghaṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (ghaṭāt udbhavaḥ)

• mahāprājña: O great sage / very wise one
• mahāprājña: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + prājña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (mahān prājñaḥ)

• śṛṇu: listen
• śṛṇu: Kriyā (Imperative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• pāpa-praṇodinīm: sin-dispelling (fem.)
• pāpa-praṇodinīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + praṇodinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (pāpān praṇodayati iti)

• jñāna-vāpyāḥ: of the well of knowledge
• jñāna-vāpyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक) + vāpī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (jñānasya vāpī)

• samutpattim: origin, arising
• samutpattim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samutpatti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• kathyamānām: being told, being narrated
• kathyamānām: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kath (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि-प्रयोगे शानच्/मान-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Present passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (Agent in passive)/करण
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• adhunā: now
• adhunā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adhunā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (now)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jñānavāpī

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Skanda begins teaching: addressing Agastya as ghaṭodbhava, he narrates the sin-dispelling origin of Jñānavāpī; the sacred well is envisioned as luminous, with subtle ripples and a sanctified aura.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Agastya (Ghaṭodbhava)
• Jñānavāpī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hearing and knowing the origin of a sacred tīrtha is itself portrayed as purifying, because the tīrtha is a remover of sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jñānavāpī in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa (devotional listening) is implied—listening to the tīrtha’s māhātmya as a purifying act.