Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 99

Devanagari script

मृत्युंजयं समाराध्य सर्वज्ञं सर्वदं सताम् । कालकालं महाकालं कालकूटविषादिनम्

Transliteration

mṛtyuṃjayaṃ samārādhya sarvajñaṃ sarvadaṃ satām | kālakālaṃ mahākālaṃ kālakūṭaviṣādinam

Translation

وبعبادةِ مُرتيونجيايا (مُنتصرِ الموت)—العليمِ بكلِّ شيء، وواهبِ جميعِ العطايا للصالحين—أي كالاكاﻻ، مهاكاﻻ، الذي يلتهمُ حتى سُمَّ كالاكوṭا.

Word by Word

• mṛtyuṃjayam: Mṛtyuṃjaya (the Conqueror of Death)
• mṛtyuṃjayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyuṃjaya (प्रातिपदिक; mṛtyu + jaya)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मृत्योः जयः)

• samārādhya: having duly worshipped/propitiated
• samārādhya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Absolutive/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-rādh (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) अव्यय-भाव; धातुः √rādh (राध्) उपसर्गाः सम्+आ; अर्थः ‘सम्यक् आराध्य/पूजयित्वा’

• sarvajñam: all-knowing
• sarvajñam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarvajña (प्रातिपदिक; sarva + jña)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (मृत्युंजयम्)

• sarvadam: giver of all (boons)
• sarvadam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarvada (प्रातिपदिक; sarva + da)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (मृत्युंजयम्); ‘सर्वं ददाति’ इति

• satām: of the good/virtuous
• satām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (सत्-शब्दः), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; ‘सज्जनानाम्’

• kālakālam: Time of Time (destroyer even of Time)
• kālakālam: Viśeṣaṇa (Appositional epithet/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kālakāla (प्रातिपदिक; kāla + kāla)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘कालः एव कालः/कालानां कालः’ (epithet)

• mahākālam: Mahākāla (the Great Time)
• mahākālam: Viśeṣaṇa (Appositional epithet/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahākāla (प्रातिपदिक; mahā + kāla)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः; उपाधि/नाम

• kālakūṭaviṣādinam: the eater of the Kālakūṭa poison
• kālakūṭaviṣādinam: Viśeṣaṇa (Appositional epithet/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kālakūṭa-viṣa-ādin (प्रातिपदिक; kālakūṭa + viṣa + ādin)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी/कर्म-तत्पुरुषः—‘कालकूट-नामकं विषं आदत्ते/अत्ति’ (विषादिन् = विषभक्षकः)

Speaker

Agastya (as character in the narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mṛtyuñjaya / Mahāmṛtyuñjaya (Kāśī)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/śaunaka-ādi (frame) or in-story devotees

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotional tableau: Śiva as Mṛtyuñjaya—serene yet formidable—encircled by the aura of Time (kāla), holding triśūla and ḍamaru, with a blue-tinged throat recalling the Kālakūṭa episode; devotees offer bilva and water in Kāśī’s sacred ambience.

Characters & Entities

• Mṛtyuñjaya
• Śiva
• Mahākāla
• Kāla
• Kālakūṭa
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva as Mṛtyuñjaya and Mahākāla is supreme over death and poison; devotion to him grants protection and grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mahākāla is especially resonant with Kāśī’s Śaiva identity (and also Ujjain in wider tradition), here within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Propitiation/worship (samārādhana) of Mṛtyuñjaya—implying japa, stotra, and pūjā as the means.