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

ਜੋ ਕੋਈ ਕਾਰਤਿਕ ਮਹੀਨੇ ਬਿੰਦੁਤੀਰਥ ਵਿੱਚ ਬ੍ਰਹਮਚਰਯ ਦਾ ਆਸਰਾ ਲੈ ਕੇ, ਸੂਰਜ ਉਗਣ ਤੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਸਨਾਨ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ—ਹੇ ਸੂਰਜਪੁੱਤਰ! ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਭੈ ਕਿੱਥੋਂ ਰਹਿ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ?

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.