Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 60

Devanagari script

यदावभृथसिस्रासुर्भवेयं द्विजसत्तम । तदा विप्रपदांभोभिरभिषेकं करोम्यहम्

Transliteration

yadāvabhṛthasisrāsurbhaveyaṃ dvijasattama | tadā viprapadāṃbhobhirabhiṣekaṃ karomyaham

Translation

Hỡi bậc dvija tối thượng, mỗi khi ta tiến đến avabhṛtha—lễ tắm kết thúc tế lễ—khi ấy ta làm lễ abhiṣeka bằng chính nước đã rửa chân các vị Bà-la-môn.

Word by Word

• yadā: when
• yadā: Sambandha (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal conjunction: when)

• avabhṛtha-sisrāsuḥ: intending to go for the avabhṛtha-bath
• avabhṛtha-sisrāsuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: avabhṛtha (प्रातिपदिक) + sisrāsu (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √sṛ, desiderative/intentive)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष; ‘अवभृथं सिस्रासुः’ = intending to go for the avabhṛtha (final bath)

• bhaveyam: I should be/I would become
• bhaveyam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• dvija-sattama: O best of Brahmins
• dvija-sattama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th, Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (‘द्विजानां सत्तमः’)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Sambandha (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (then)

• vipra-pada-ambhobhiḥ: with the water of Brahmins’ feet
• vipra-pada-ambhobhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + pada (प्रातिपदिक) + ambhas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (अम्भस्), तृतीया (3rd, Instrumental), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष; ‘विप्रपदानाम् अम्भः’ = water (from washing) the Brahmins’ feet

• abhiṣekam: ablution/anointing
• abhiṣekam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhiṣeka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• karomi: I do/perform
• karomi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st, Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

A dharmaśīla king (addressing a Brāhmaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avabhṛtha-snānāṅga (yajña-concluding bath) in Kāśī context

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the end of a grand sacrifice, the king stands at a bathing pavilion holding a kalaśa; brāhmaṇas wash their feet into a vessel; the king pours that water over his head in abhiṣeka; yajña-śālā and extinguished fire altar behind.

Characters & Entities

• Avabhṛtha
• Brāhmaṇa (Vipra)
• Abhiṣeka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverence to the worthy (Brāhmaṇas) is treated as a sanctifying power equal to the heights of sacrifice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The practice is described within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s sacred Kāśī setting, emphasizing dharma in a tīrtha-centered worldview.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

At avabhṛtha time, the king uses vipra-pādāmbhaḥ (water from Brāhmaṇa feet) for abhiṣeka as an act of devotion and humility.