Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

आरभ्याद्य दिनाद्भूप ब्राह्मणोऽष्टादशेहनि । उदीच्यः कश्चिदागत्य ध्रुवं त्वामुपदेक्ष्यति

Transliteration

ārabhyādya dinādbhūpa brāhmaṇo'ṣṭādaśehani | udīcyaḥ kaścidāgatya dhruvaṃ tvāmupadekṣyati

Translation

اے راجا، آج کے دن سے آغاز کر کے اٹھارہویں دن شمالی خطے سے ایک برہمن آئے گا اور یقیناً تمہیں اُپدیش (نصیحت) دے گا۔

Word by Word

• ārabhya: starting from
• ārabhya: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-rabh (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) = ‘having begun/from’

• adya: today
• adya: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

• dināt: from the day
• dināt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• bhūpa: O king
• bhūpa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• brāhmaṇaḥ: a Brahmin
• brāhmaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• aṣṭādaśa-ehani: on the eighteenth day
• aṣṭādaśa-ehani: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭādaśa (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + ahan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (on the eighteenth day)

• udīcyaḥ: from the north
• udīcyaḥ: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: udīcya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; दिशावाचक विशेषण (northerner/from the north)

• kaścit: some
• kaścit: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kaścit (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक सर्वनाम

• āgatya: having come
• āgatya: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) = ‘having come’

• dhruvam: certainly
• dhruvam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) = ‘certainly’

• tvām: you
• tvām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• upadekṣyati: will instruct
• upadekṣyati: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa-diś (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhūpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A prophetic announcement in a royal setting: a king is told that on the eighteenth day a northern brāhmaṇa will arrive to instruct him; the scene shows a road leading into Kāśī, with a traveler-sage approaching, carrying a staff and waterpot.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa (unnamed)
• Udīcya (northern region)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is preserved through timely upadeśa: the king’s path is guided by brāhmaṇic counsel and right instruction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a narrative transition within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it foretells an upcoming teaching event.