Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

अद्भिर्गात्राणि शुध्यंति मनः सत्येन शुद्ध्यति । विद्या तपोभ्यां भूतात्मा बुद्धिर्ज्ञानेन शुद्ध्यति

Transliteration

adbhirgātrāṇi śudhyaṃti manaḥ satyena śuddhyati | vidyā tapobhyāṃ bhūtātmā buddhirjñānena śuddhyati

Translation

กายย่อมบริสุทธิ์ด้วยน้ำ ใจย่อมบริสุทธิ์ด้วยสัจจะ อาตมันผู้ดำรงชีวิตย่อมบริสุทธิ์ด้วยวิทยาและตบะ และปัญญาย่อมบริสุทธิ์ด้วยญาณอันแท้จริง

Word by Word

• अद्भिः: by waters
• अद्भिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्/अद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन

• गात्राणि: limbs, body-parts
• गात्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन

• शुध्यन्ति: are purified
• शुध्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शुध् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन

• मनः: mind
• मनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सत्येन: by truth
• सत्येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन

• शुद्ध्यति: is purified
• शुद्ध्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शुध् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• विद्या: by knowledge/learning
• विद्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विद्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तपोभ्याम्: by austerity (and)
• तपोभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), द्विवचन

• भूतात्मा: the living self (embodied being)
• भूतात्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—भूतः आत्मा (the embodied self/living being)

• बुद्धिः: intellect
• बुद्धिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ज्ञानेन: by (true) knowledge
• ज्ञानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• शुद्ध्यति: is purified
• शुद्ध्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शुध् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā in Kāśī / Kāśī-kṣetra

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Fourfold purification allegory: water bathing at a ghāṭa, a figure speaking truth, a student with scriptures and austere posture, and a sage with radiant intellect-light.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Outer cleansing must be matched by inner purification—truth, austerity, learning, and knowledge are presented as the deeper means of sanctification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the implied sacred context; the verse frames purification as both ritual (water) and ethical-spiritual (truth and knowledge), central to Kāśī’s Mahātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implicitly affirms snāna (water-bathing) for bodily purity, while prescribing satya, tapas, vidyā, and jñāna for inner purity.