Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

इति पीत्वा महेशानमुखक्षीराब्धिजां सुधाम् । परितृप्ता द्विजाः सर्वे वव्रुर्वरमनुत्तमम्

Transliteration

iti pītvā maheśānamukhakṣīrābdhijāṃ sudhām | paritṛptā dvijāḥ sarve vavrurvaramanuttamam

Translation

如是从大自在天（Maheśāna）之口饮下出自乳海的甘露，诸婆罗门皆得圆满满足，遂选择了无上之恩赐。

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• pītvā: having drunk
• pītvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √pā (धातु) + क्त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• maheśāna-mukha-kṣīra-abdhi-jām: born from the ocean of milk from Maheśāna’s mouth
• maheśāna-mukha-kṣīra-abdhi-jām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: maheśāna + mukha + kṣīra + abdhi + jā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘(सुधाम्) विशेषण’

• sudhām: nectar
• sudhām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sudhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• paritṛptāḥ: fully satisfied
• paritṛptāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari-√tṛp (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• dvijāḥ: twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvijāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• sarve: all
• sarve: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• vavruḥ: chose, selected
• vavruḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• varam: a boon
• varam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• anuttamam: unsurpassed, supreme
• anuttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: an-uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (within the dialogue frame of Kāśīkhaṇḍa; contextually Skanda recounting events)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (Maheśāna) offers luminous nectar from His mouth—symbolic of divine speech—into the cupped hands of brāhmaṇas; the nectar glows like moonlight, and the devotees’ faces show profound contentment.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśāna (Śiva)
• Kṣīrābdhi (Milk Ocean)
• Sudhā (nectar)
• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace, symbolized as nectar from Śiva, brings inner fulfillment and prepares devotees to ask for the highest boon.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode belongs to Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī context, though this verse itself foregrounds Maheśāna’s grace rather than a named sub-tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription; it narrates a grace-event (drinking sudhā) leading to the request for a boon.