Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 91

Devanagari script

भारभूतेश्वरं किं वा महालक्ष्मीश्वरं तु वा । मरुत्तेशं तु मोक्षेशं गंगेशं नर्मदेश्वरम्

Transliteration

bhārabhūteśvaraṃ kiṃ vā mahālakṣmīśvaraṃ tu vā | marutteśaṃ tu mokṣeśaṃ gaṃgeśaṃ narmadeśvaram

Translation

Oder (man kann verehren) Bhārabhūteśvara oder Mahālakṣmīśvara; ebenso Marutteśa, Mokṣeśa, Gaṅgeśa und Narmadeśvara.

Word by Word

• भारभूतेश्वरम्: Bhārabhūteśvara
• भारभूतेश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारभूत-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• किम्: what? / whether
• किम्: Sambandha/Discourse (प्रश्न/विकल्प)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक-सर्वनाम (interrogative)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (or)

• महालक्ष्मीश्वरम्: Mahālakṣmīśvara
• महालक्ष्मीश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-लक्ष्मी-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तु: but / indeed
• तु: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-अव्यय (but/indeed)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (or)

• मरुत्तेशम्: Marutteśa
• मरुत्तेशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरुत्त-ईश (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तु: indeed / but
• तु: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विशेषण/विरोधार्थक-अव्यय (indeed/but)

• मोक्षेशम्: Mokṣeśa (Lord of liberation)
• मोक्षेशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष-ईश (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गंगेशम्: Gaṅgeśa
• गंगेशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा-ईश (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नर्मदेश्वरम्: Narmadeśvara
• नर्मदेश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgeśa / Mokṣeśa (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a Gaṅgā-ghāṭ in Kāśī, a pilgrim emerges from snāna and proceeds to a shrine of Gaṅgeśa; nearby iconography hints at Narmadā as a sister-river, while Mokṣeśa shrine radiates calm light.

Characters & Entities

• Bhārabhūteśvara
• Mahālakṣmīśvara
• Marutteśa
• Mokṣeśa
• Gaṅgeśa
• Narmadeśvara
• Gaṅgā
• Narmadā
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s Śiva-shrines connect prosperity (Mahālakṣmīśvara) and liberation (Mokṣeśa), showing dharma’s wholeness—artha and mokṣa harmonized in pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, especially its liṅgas associated with sacred waters and liberation, such as Gaṅgeśa and Mokṣeśa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the passage supports pilgrimage-darśana and devotional remembrance of these īśvaras.