Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

तवाग्रतो मम जरा पलितं च यथाविधि । एतत्कूपोदपानेन क्षणान्नष्टं नवोऽभवम्

Transliteration

tavāgrato mama jarā palitaṃ ca yathāvidhi | etatkūpodapānena kṣaṇānnaṣṭaṃ navo'bhavam

Translation

تمہاری آنکھوں کے سامنے ہی میری بڑھاپا اور سفید بال—جیسے ظاہر ہوئے تھے—اس کنویں کا پانی پینے سے ایک لمحے میں مٹ گئے؛ میں پھر جوان ہو گیا۔

Word by Word

• तव: of you/your
• तव: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• अग्रतः: in front (of)
• अग्रतः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अग्रतः (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• मम: my/of me
• मम: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• जरा: old age
• जरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• पलितम्: grey hair/hoariness
• पलितम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पलित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• यथा: as/according to
• यथा: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपमान/प्रकारवाचक (manner: as/according to)

• विधि: rule/ritual procedure
• विधि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• कूप-उदपानेन: by the well and the water-reservoir
• कूप-उदपानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूप (प्रातिपदिक) + उदपान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (copulative), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• क्षणात्: in a moment/instantly
• क्षणात्: Apadana (Source/अपाादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• नष्टम्: vanished/was destroyed
• नष्टम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु) → नष्ट (कृदन्त-भूतकृत्)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थ (passive sense: 'was destroyed/vanished')

• नवः: new/young
• नवः: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying the speaker implied)

• अभवम्: I became
• अभवम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator within Skanda’s Kāśī Māhātmya discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vṛddhakāleśvara-kūpa/udapāna (well associated with Vṛddhakāleśvara)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A venerable devotee drinks from a stone-lined well near a Śiva precinct; grey hair and wrinkles vanish instantly as onlookers witness the transformation, with Kāśī’s ghāṭa skyline faintly behind.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• kūpa (sacred well)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sacred waters are portrayed as instantly purifying and renewing, symbolizing the power of tīrtha-grace to remove decay and restore spiritual vitality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sacred well (kūpa/udapāna) associated with the Kāśī sacred landscape in the Vṛddhakāleśvara context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Drinking the water of the sacred well as a tīrtha-act (tīrtha-sevana).