Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

क्व द्वयक्षरं हरेर्नाम स्फुलिंगसदृशं ज्वलेत । महती पातकानां च राशिस्तूलोपमा क्व च

Transliteration

kva dvayakṣaraṃ harernāma sphuliṃgasadṛśaṃ jvaleta | mahatī pātakānāṃ ca rāśistūlopamā kva ca

Translation

Welcher Vergleich wäre möglich zwischen dem zweisilbigen Namen Haris, der wie ein Funke lodert, und dem großen Haufen der Sünden, gleich einem Baumwollberg? (Der Funke verzehrt ihn.)

Word by Word

• क्व: where/what comparison
• क्व: Sambandha (Interrogative/Context)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: “where?/how?”)

• द्वयक्षरम्: two-syllabled (name)
• द्वयक्षरम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (numeral compound) “two-syllabled”

• हरेः: of Hari
• हरेः: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन

• नाम: name
• नाम: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• स्फुलिङ्गसदृशम्: like a spark
• स्फुलिङ्गसदृशम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्फुलिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + सदृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (उपमान-सम्बन्ध) “spark-like”

• ज्वलेत: would blaze/burn
• ज्वलेत: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्वल् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• महती: great/huge
• महती: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पातकानाम्: of sins
• पातकानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• राशिः: heap/mass
• राशिः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राशि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तूलोपमा: like cotton
• तूलोपमा: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तूल (प्रातिपदिक) + उपमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (उपमान-सम्बन्ध) “cotton-like (as a comparison)”

• क्व: where
• क्व: Sambandha (Interrogative/Context)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Vārāṇasī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (traditional) / pilgrims as implied audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tiny spark leaps from a sacred lamp and instantly ignites a huge cotton mound labeled ‘pāpa-rāśi’; behind it stands a serene devotee in Kāśī with Gaṅgā and temple spires, chanting ‘Hari’.

Characters & Entities

• Hari-nāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a small utterance of Hari’s name has immense purifying power, capable of consuming vast sin like fire consuming cotton.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site; the verse is a nāma-māhātmya teaching within the broader Kāśī Khaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nāma-japa/utterance of Hari’s name as a purifying practice.