Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

काश्यां पादोदके तीर्थे यैः कृता नोदकक्रियाः । जन्मैव विफलं तेषां जलबुद्बुद सश्रियाम्

Transliteration

kāśyāṃ pādodake tīrthe yaiḥ kṛtā nodakakriyāḥ | janmaiva viphalaṃ teṣāṃ jalabudbuda saśriyām

Translation

ผู้ใดในกาศี ณท่าน้ำปาโททกะ มิได้ประกอบอุทกกริยา (พิธีน้ำ) แม้จะมีศรีอันชั่วครู่ดุจฟองน้ำ ชาติกำเนิดของผู้นั้นย่อมไร้ผล

Word by Word

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• पाद-उदके: in the foot-water (tīrtha)
• पाद-उदके: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद (प्रातिपदिक) + उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषसमासः

• तीर्थे: at the sacred place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• यैः: by whom
• यैः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धे ‘by whom’

• कृता: performed
• कृता: Kriya (Predicate-part/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (PPP/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘done/performed’ (उदकक्रियाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात

• उदक-क्रियाः: water-rites (libations/ablutions)
• उदक-क्रियाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उदक (प्रातिपदिक) + क्रिया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (‘water-rites’)

• जन्म: birth/life
• जन्म: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• विफलम्: fruitless
• विफलम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विफल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘fruitless’ (जन्म इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• जल-बुद्बुद: a water-bubble
• जल-बुद्बुद: Upamana (Simile-base/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक) + बुद्बुद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (‘water-bubble’)

• स-श्रियाम्: of those having prosperity
• स-श्रियाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive qualifier/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स (अव्यय/सह) + श्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (‘श्रियासहितानाम्’); तेषाम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pādodaka Tīrtha (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bustling Kāśī ghāṭa with some pilgrims performing tarpaṇa (water offerings) while a distracted visitor walks past; above, a poetic overlay shows water bubbles rising and bursting, symbolizing fleeting life.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Pādodaka-tīrtha
• Udaka-kriyā (water rites)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Because life is transient, one should not waste the rare opportunity of human birth; fulfilling dharma—especially water-rites and ancestral duties in a great tīrtha—is emphasized.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Pādodaka-tīrtha in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Udaka-kriyāḥ—ritual acts with water, typically tarpaṇa/oblations and related offerings at the tīrtha.