Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

अगस्त्य उवाच । स्कंदज्ञानोदतीर्थस्य माहात्म्यं वद सांप्रतम् । ज्ञानवापीं प्रशंसंति यतः स्वर्गौकसोप्यलम्

Transliteration

agastya uvāca | skaṃdajñānodatīrthasya māhātmyaṃ vada sāṃpratam | jñānavāpīṃ praśaṃsaṃti yataḥ svargaukasopyalam

Translation

Агастья сказал: Поведай ныне о величии тиртхи Сканда-Джнянода. Ибо Джнянавапи превозносят столь высоко, что даже обитатели небес восхваляют её.

Word by Word

• agastyaḥ: Agastya
• agastyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agastya (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

• skaṃda-jñānoda-tīrthasya: of the Skanda-Jñānoda sacred ford
• skaṃda-jñānoda-tīrthasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skaṃda (प्रातिपदिक) + jñānoda (jñāna+uda) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (सम्बन्ध: ...tīrthasya)

• māhātmyam: greatness, glory
• māhātmyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• vada: tell, speak
• vada: Kriyā (Imperative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• sāṃpratam: now, at present
• sāṃpratam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sāṃprata (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time: now)

• jñāna-vāpīm: the well of knowledge
• jñāna-vāpīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक) + vāpī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (jñānasya vāpī)

• praśaṃsaṃti: they praise
• praśaṃsaṃti: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-śaṃs (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• yataḥ: because / from which
• yataḥ: Hetu (Cause)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतुवाचक-अव्यय/सम्बन्धबोधक (from which/because)

• svargaukasaḥ: heaven-dwellers (gods)
• svargaukasaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक) + okas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (svarge okasām)

• api: also, even
• api: Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (also/even)

• alam: enough; sufficiently
• alam: Predicate particle (पर्याप्ति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: alam (अव्यय)
• Form: पर्याप्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (enough/sufficient; also 'capable of')

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Skanda-Jñānoda Tīrtha / Jñānavāpī

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Skanda

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya, the pot-born sage, respectfully questions Skanda about the greatness of Skanda-Jñānoda Tīrtha and Jñānavāpī; a sacred well/pond is suggested, with celestial beings symbolically praising it.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Skanda-Jñānoda Tīrtha
• Jñānavāpī
• Svarga (heaven)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse frames Kāśī’s Jñānavāpī as a supremely revered tīrtha whose glory is acknowledged even in celestial realms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Skanda-Jñānoda Tīrtha and Jñānavāpī (the famed well of knowledge) in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is a request to narrate the tīrtha’s māhātmya (glory).