Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

ततः श्रेष्ठतरं शंभोर्मणिश्रवणभूषणात् । आनंदकानने तस्मिन्नविमुक्ते शिवालये

Transliteration

tataḥ śreṣṭhataraṃ śaṃbhormaṇiśravaṇabhūṣaṇāt | ānaṃdakānane tasminnavimukte śivālaye

Translation

Erhabener noch als Śambhus juwelenbesetzter Ohrschmuck ist jene Wohnstatt Śivas—Avimukta—dort im Wonne-Wald Ānandakānana.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter; from that
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: तस्मात्-अर्थक अव्यय (ablatival adverb: from that/thereafter)

• śreṣṭhataram: better; more excellent
• śreṣṭhataram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śreṣṭhatara (प्रातिपदिक; śreṣṭha + tara)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; तरप्-प्रत्ययान्त (comparative) विशेषण

• śaṃbhoḥ: of Śambhu (Śiva)
• śaṃbhoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃbhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन

• maṇiśravaṇabhūṣaṇāt: from the jewel-ear-ornament (earring)
• maṇiśravaṇabhūṣaṇāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇi + śravaṇa + bhūṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (मणि-श्रवणं यस्य/मणि-श्रवणस्य भूषणम् इति; समासान्तात् अपादान)

• ānaṃdakānane: in the Ānanda grove
• ānaṃdakānane: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānanda + kānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (आनन्दस्य काननम्)

• tasmin: in that
• tasmin: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• avimukte: in Avimukta (Kāśī)
• avimukte: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-vimukta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन; स्थाननाम (Avimukta)

• śivālaye: in the temple/abode of Śiva
• śivālaye: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (शिवस्य आलयः)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandakānana (within Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A verdant yet luminous ‘forest’ within the city—Ānandakānana—where a Śiva temple glows; Śiva’s jeweled kuṇḍala is shown as secondary to the radiant sanctum and sacred grove.

Characters & Entities

• Śambhu (Śiva)
• Ānandakānana (Ānandavana)
• Avimukta
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s sacred dwelling-place in Kāśī is valued above even divine jewels, because it grants the highest spiritual good.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānandakānana/Ānandavana within Avimukta (Kāśī), described as Śiva’s abode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; the verse is primarily a praise of the locale as Śiva’s supreme residence.