Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

निर्मलीकृत्य तच्चेतो रत्नं दत्त्वा पिनाकिने । प्रपपौ कणधूमौघं सहस्रं शरदां कविः

Transliteration

nirmalīkṛtya tacceto ratnaṃ dattvā pinākine | prapapau kaṇadhūmaughaṃ sahasraṃ śaradāṃ kaviḥ

Translation

Nachdem er seinen Geist geläutert hatte, brachte der Weise Pinākin (Śiva) ein kostbares Juwel dar. Dann ertrug der inspirierte Seher einen Strom von Rauch und Staub tausend Herbste lang — eine gewaltige Buße um der Gnade des Herrn willen.

Word by Word

• निर्मलीकृत्य: having purified
• निर्मलीकृत्य: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier of main action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: निर्मलीकृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), धातु: निर्मलीकृ (to purify/clarify)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (pronoun-adjective)

• चेतः: mind
• चेतः: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• रत्नम्: a jewel
• रत्नम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• दत्त्वा: having given
• दत्त्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier of main action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), धातु: दा (to give)

• पिनाकिने: to Pinākin (Śiva)
• पिनाकिने: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिनाकिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• प्रपपौ: drank (repeatedly)/imbibed
• प्रपपौ: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-पा (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कणधूमौघम्: a mass/stream of particle-smoke
• कणधूमौघम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कण (प्रातिपदिक) + धूम (प्रातिपदिक) + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कणानां धूमः → कणधूमः; कणधूमस्य ओघः → कणधूमौघः)

• सहस्रम्: a thousand
• सहस्रम्: Karma (Measure/extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; परिमाणवाचक (measure)

• शरदाम्: of years/autumns
• शरदाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• कविः: the sage/poet
• कविः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कवि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual purāṇic narration within Kāśīkhaṇḍa; often Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī (general kṣetra context)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Bhārgava sage, mind composed, offers a gleaming jewel before a Śiva-liṅga; around him a dramatic storm of smoke and dust swirls as he endures long austerity.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Pinākin
• Bhārgava (implied in surrounding verses)
• Kāśī (section context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purified intention (inner clarity) joined with dāna and sustained tapas becomes a direct means to obtain Śiva’s grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework, which glorifies Kāśī/Vārāṇasī as the supreme Śaiva sacred landscape, even when a specific tīrtha name is not stated in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ratna-dāna—offering a precious gem to Śiva—together with the ideal of rigorous penance (tapas) performed with a purified mind.