Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

तीर्थस्नानार्थिनी नारी पतिपादोदकं पिबेत् । शंकरादपि विष्णोर्वा पतिरेकोधिकः स्त्रियाः

Transliteration

tīrthasnānārthinī nārī patipādodakaṃ pibet | śaṃkarādapi viṣṇorvā patirekodhikaḥ striyāḥ

Translation

తీర్థస్నాన ఫలాన్ని కోరే స్త్రీ భర్త పాదప్రక్షాళన జలాన్ని పానము చేయాలి. స్త్రీకి గృహధర్మంలో భర్త శంకరునికన్నా, విష్ణువుకన్నా కూడా అధిక పరముడని చెప్పబడెను.

Word by Word

• तीर्थस्नानार्थिनी: desiring pilgrimage-bath
• तीर्थस्नानार्थिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थ-स्नान-अर्थिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (fem. nom. sg.)

• नारी: woman
• नारी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• पति: of (her) husband
• पति: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद (in compound)

• पाद: of (his) foot
• पाद: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद (in compound)

• उदकम्: water (from washing the husband's feet)
• उदकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; (पति-पाद-उदक) समासान्तपद

• पिबेत्: should drink
• पिबेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• शंकरात्: than Śaṅkara
• शंकरात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle/emphasis)

• विष्णोः: than Viṣṇu
• विष्णोः: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative) एकवचनार्थे; वैकल्पिकरूपेण षष्ठी (6th/Genitive) एकवचन-रूपसदृशम्; अत्र तुलनार्थे पञ्चमीभावः

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive particle)

• पतिः: husband
• पतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• एकः: alone/one
• एकः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• अधिकः: greater/superior
• अधिकः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• स्त्रियाः: of a woman
• स्त्रियाः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a modest Kāśī household courtyard: a devoted wife offers water at her husband’s feet; a small lota and copper vessel; in the background, a faint silhouette of Viśvanātha temple spire and Gaṅgā ghāṭ steps, suggesting the ‘tīrtha within the home’.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara
• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It emphasizes gṛhastha-dharma: for a married woman, devoted service to the husband is presented as a principal religious discipline yielding tīrtha-like merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it uses the idea of tīrtha-bathing as a benchmark for merit within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Drinking the water from washing the husband’s feet (pati-pādodaka) is prescribed as a devotional act associated with tīrtha-like merit.