Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मावर्त इति ख्यातः पुनरावृत्तिहृन्नृणाम् । तत्कूपाद्भिः कृतस्नानो देवदेवं समर्च्य च

Transliteration

brahmāvarta iti khyātaḥ punarāvṛttihṛnnṛṇām | tatkūpādbhiḥ kṛtasnāno devadevaṃ samarcya ca

Translation

สถานที่นี้เลื่องชื่อว่า “พรหมาวรรตะ” ผู้ขจัดการเวียนเกิดของมนุษย์ ครั้นอาบด้วยน้ำจากบ่อน้ำนั้น และบูชาเทวเทวะโดยถูกต้องตามพิธีแล้ว…

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मावर्तः: Brahmāvarta (name)
• ब्रह्मावर्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मावर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotative/इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/नामनिर्देशार्थक निपात

• ख्यातः: is known
• ख्यातः: Kriya (Predicate adjective/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ख्या (धातु) → ख्यात (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (प्रसिद्धः)

• पुनरावृत्तिहृत्: removing return (rebirth)
• पुनरावृत्तिहृत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुनरावृत्तिहृत् = पुनरावृत्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + हृत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (नृणाम् इत्यस्य)

• नृणाम्: of men
• नृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• तत्: of that
• तत्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• कूपात्: from the well
• कूपात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• भिः: with (waters)
• भिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भिस् (तृतीया-बहुवचन-प्रत्यय; सर्वनाम/संज्ञा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: विभक्त्यन्त-अव्ययवत्; तृतीया बहुवचन-प्रत्ययः (Instrumental plural ending)

• कृतस्नानः: having bathed
• कृतस्नानः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतस्नान = कृत (कृदन्त) + स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (कर्तरि)

• देवदेवम्: Devadeva (Śiva)
• देवदेवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवदेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• समर्च्य: having worshipped
• समर्च्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम् + अर्च् (धातु) → समर्च्य (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (ल्यप्), अव्यय; पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Brahmāvarta (Kāśī-internal) and Devadeva well

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee draws water from an ancient well, performs ritual bathing/purification, then offers worship to the Devadeva-liṅga; above, a subtle symbolic wheel of saṃsāra is shown breaking, indicating ‘punarāvṛtti-hṛt’.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmāvarta
• Devadeva Liṅga
• Sacred well (kūpa)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-snānā and liṅga-arcana in Kāśī are presented as direct aids toward liberation, cutting the cycle of repeated birth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Brahmāvarta in Kāśī, especially the well before Devadeva Liṅga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathed using the well’s water (snāna) and then worship Devadeva (samarcana/arcana).