Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

कार्तिके बिंदुतीर्थे यो ब्रह्मचर्यपरायणः । स्नास्यत्यनुदिते भानौ भानुजात्तस्य भीः कुतः

Transliteration

kārtike biṃdutīrthe yo brahmacaryaparāyaṇaḥ | snāsyatyanudite bhānau bhānujāttasya bhīḥ kutaḥ

Translation

കാർത്തിക മാസത്തിൽ ബ്രഹ്മചര്യപരായണനായി സൂര്യോദയത്തിന് മുമ്പ് ബിന്ദുതീർത്ഥത്തിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്യുന്നവന്—ഹേ സൂര്യപുത്രാ! ഭയം എവിടെ നിലനിൽക്കും?

Word by Word

• kārtike: in (the month of) Kārtika
• kārtike: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārtika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्; मास-नाम

• biṃdutīrthe: at Bindu-tīrtha
• biṃdutīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: biṃdutīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सम्बन्धि-सर्वनाम

• brahmacaryaparāyaṇaḥ: devoted to celibacy
• brahmacaryaparāyaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahmacarya (प्रातिपदिक) + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (ब्रह्मचर्ये परायणः); विशेषण (yaḥ)

• snāsyati: will bathe
• snāsyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (स्ना धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकारः (Simple Future), प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• anudite: when (the sun is) not risen
• anudite: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anudita (a-udita; √ud (उद् धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; क्तान्त-विशेषण; नञ्-समासभाव (not risen)

• bhānau: in the sun / when the sun
• bhānau: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhānu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• bhānujāt: O son of the Sun
• bhānujāt: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhānu (प्रातिपदिक) + jāta (√jan धातु, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः (Vocative), एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (भानोः जातः); क्तान्त-प्रातिपदिक

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive), एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• bhīḥ: fear
• bhīḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), एकवचनम्

• kutaḥ: from where?/how? (i.e., why)
• kutaḥ: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bindu-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ‘Bhānuja’ (son of the Sun) addressed in the verse

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Before sunrise in Kārtika, a celibate vow-observer steps into the cool waters of Bindu-tīrtha; the horizon is dark-blue with a faint saffron line, conveying fear dissolving into calm.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Bindu-tīrtha
• Kārtika
• Sūrya (Bhānu)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kārtika observance joined with self-restraint and sacred bathing yields inner fearlessness and spiritual protection.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bindu-tīrtha in Kāśī, especially potent in the Kārtika month at pre-dawn.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Brahmacarya (restraint) and snāna at Bindu-tīrtha before sunrise during Kārtika.