Shloka 60

भैरवावतारलीलावर्णनम् (Bhairava-avatāra-līlā-varṇanam) — “Narration of the Divine Play of Bhairava’s Descent”

Devanagari script

कपालमोचनं काश्यां यः स्मरेत्तीर्थमुत्तमम् । इहान्यत्रापि यत्पापं क्षिप्रं तस्य प्रणश्यति

Transliteration

kapālamocanaṃ kāśyāṃ yaḥ smarettīrthamuttamam | ihānyatrāpi yatpāpaṃ kṣipraṃ tasya praṇaśyati

Translation

Wer in Kāśī an die höchste Tīrtha namens Kapālamocana gedenkt, dessen Sünde — ob hier oder anderswo begangen — vergeht rasch.

Word by Word

• kapāla-mocanam: the release from the skull (Kapālamocana)
• kapāla-mocanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapāla (प्रातिपदिक) + mocana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; object of 'smaret'; tatpuruṣa: 'kapālasya mocanam'

• kāśyām: in Kāśī
• kāśyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; relative pronoun (correlative with 'tasya')

• smaret: should remember
• smaret: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (स्मृ धातु)
• Form: Liṅ (लिङ्, Optative/vidhi), Parasmaipada, 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular

• tīrtham: the sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• tīrtham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; apposition to 'kapālamocanam'

• uttamam: supreme/excellent
• uttamam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; qualifying 'tīrtham'

• iha: here
• iha: Deśa (देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable adverb (देशवाचक)

• anyatra: elsewhere
• anyatra: Deśa (देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable adverb (देशवाचक)

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात) meaning 'also/even'

• yat: whatever
• yat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; relative pronoun referring to 'pāpam'

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; subject of 'praṇaśyati'

• kṣipram: quickly
• kṣipram: Kāla (काल/शीघ्रता)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṣipra (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Adverbial accusative (क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण द्वितीया)

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; correlative to 'yaḥ'

• praṇaśyati: perishes/is destroyed
• praṇaśyati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√naś (नश् धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्, Present), Parasmaipada, 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular; with preverb प्र

Speaker

Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating the Śiva Purāṇa to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha

Sthala Purana: The tīrtha ‘Kapālamocana’ in Kāśī is declared so potent that even mere smaraṇa (remembrance) destroys sins committed ‘here or elsewhere’. This elevates Kāśī from a physical place to a grace-bearing sacred reality accessible through memory/devotion.

Significance: Smaraṇa-māhātmya: mental recollection of Kapālamocana is presented as a rapid purifier, encouraging bhakti and nāma-smaraṇa as effective upāyas supported by Śiva’s anugraha.

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Kashi
• Kapalamocana Tirtha

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It teaches that sincere smaraṇa (remembrance) of Shiva’s sacred geography—here, Kapālamocana in Kāśī—has purificatory power that rapidly burns papa (sin/impurity), aligning the devotee toward śuddhi and liberation under Shiva’s grace.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

Kāśī is revered as Shiva’s own kṣetra, where Saguna Shiva is approached through tangible supports—liṅga, tīrtha, and kṣetra. Remembering Kapālamocana functions as devotion to Shiva-in-place, strengthening bhakti and receptivity to Shiva’s anugraha.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Practice tīrtha-smaraṇa: daily recollect Kapālamocana and Kāśī with devotion, ideally alongside japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and a resolve to abandon pāpa, treating remembrance as a form of inner pilgrimage.