Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

एको ब्राह्मणदायाद उज्जयिन्या इहागतः । कृतोपनयनः पित्रा ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतेस्थितः

Transliteration

eko brāhmaṇadāyāda ujjayinyā ihāgataḥ | kṛtopanayanaḥ pitrā brahmacaryavratesthitaḥ

Translation

ഉജ്ജയിനിയിൽ നിന്നൊരു ബ്രാഹ്മണവംശാവകാശിയായ യുവാവ് ഇവിടെ വന്നു. പിതാവ് ഉപനയനം നടത്തി; അവൻ ബ്രഹ്മചര്യവ്രതത്തിൽ സ്ഥിരനായിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• एकः: one
• एकः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• ब्राह्मणदायादः: a Brahmin descendant/heir
• ब्राह्मणदायादः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण-दायाद (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासविग्रहः: ब्राह्मणस्य दायादः (a Brahmin’s heir/descendant)

• उज्जयिन्याः: from Ujjayinī
• उज्जयिन्याः: Apādāna (Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उज्जयिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (adverb: here)

• आगतः: having come
• आगतः: Karta (Subject; participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कृतोपनयनः: whose upanayana was done
• कृतोपनयनः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत-उपनयन (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासविग्रहः: कृतम् उपनयनम् यस्य (whose upanayana has been performed)

• पित्रा: by (his) father
• पित्रा: Karaṇa (Agent/instrument in passive sense)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतेस्थितः: abiding in the vow of brahmacarya
• ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतेस्थितः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मचर्य-व्रत-स्थित (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासविग्रहः: ब्रह्मचर्यस्य व्रते स्थितः (standing/abiding in the vow of celibacy)

Speaker

Śiva (continuing the narrative addressed to Aparṇā in the preceding verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (as the destination kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Aparṇā (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A young Brahmin student arrives from Ujjayinī: carrying a staff and water-pot, wearing a simple cloth and sacred thread, calm and disciplined. Kāśī’s lanes/ghāṭs appear ahead, with ascetics in the distance.

Characters & Entities

• Ujjayinī (Ujjain)
• Brāhmaṇa youth
• Upanayana
• Brahmacarya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma begins with saṃskāras and disciplined vows; such purity becomes the foundation for tīrtha-related merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Kāśī sacred region where the narrative unfolds (context: Hara-pāpa-hrada māhātmya).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upanayana (sacred-thread initiation) and steadfastness in the brahmacarya-vrata.