Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

इति तेन च नुन्नस्त्वं वार्यानीय च कूपतः । पाययिष्यसि तं वृद्धं तापसं तत्क्षणाच्च सः

Transliteration

iti tena ca nunnastvaṃ vāryānīya ca kūpataḥ | pāyayiṣyasi taṃ vṛddhaṃ tāpasaṃ tatkṣaṇācca saḥ

Translation

ครั้นถูกเขาเร้าเตือนแล้ว ท่านจักตักน้ำจากบ่อมาถวายให้ฤๅษีชรานั้นดื่ม; และในขณะนั้นเอง เขาจะ…

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निदर्शन/उद्धरणार्थक particle: “thus/so”)

• तेन: by him/with that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे/पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; pronoun “by him/with that”

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• नुन्नः: urged
• नुन्नः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नुद् (धातु) → नुन्न (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “impelled/urged”

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 2nd person pronoun

• वारि: water
• वारि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन; “water” (object of bringing)

• आनीय: having brought
• आनीय: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-नी (धातु) → आनीय (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), “having brought”

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• कूपतः: from the well
• कूपतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन; “from the well”

• पाययिष्यसि: you will give (him) to drink
• पाययिष्यसि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु) (causative: पायय)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिजन्त (causative) “you will cause to drink”

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन; “him”

• वृद्धम्: old
• वृद्धम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective qualifying “tāpasa”

• तापसम्: the ascetic
• तापसम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तापस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन; “ascetic”

• तत्क्षणात्: from that moment
• तत्क्षणात्: Adhikarana (Time locus/अधिकरण-काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (तत्-क्षण), पुंलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी (अपादान/काल), एकवचन; “from that very moment”

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “he”

Speaker

Narrator (prophetic/continuative narration within the story)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (episode centered on a kūpa/well within Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame tradition) / in-episode interlocutors (king and ascetic)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king or noble pilgrim, urged by a guide/voice, draws cool water from a stone-lined well and offers it reverently to a frail, aged ascetic seated nearby; the moment is charged with impending miracle.

Characters & Entities

• Vṛddha-tāpasa (Aged ascetic)
• Narapati (King)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma expressed as immediate service becomes the doorway for grace and extraordinary transformation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī milieu is emphasized; the well (kūpa) is part of the local sacred scene but not named here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal ritual; an act of compassionate service—drawing water and offering it—is central.