Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

शंभुस्तत्किंचिदाचष्टे म्रियमाणस्य जन्मिनः । कर्णेऽक्षरं यदाकर्ण्य मृतोप्यमृततां व्रजेत्

Transliteration

śaṃbhustatkiṃcidācaṣṭe mriyamāṇasya janminaḥ | karṇe'kṣaraṃ yadākarṇya mṛtopyamṛtatāṃ vrajet

Translation

Śambhu spricht dem sterbenden Menschen eine heilige Silbe ins Ohr; wer diesen unvergänglichen Klang vernimmt, erlangt selbst nach dem Tod Unsterblichkeit.

Word by Word

• śambhuḥ: Śambhu (Śiva)
• śambhuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śambhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; अन्वयः ‘तत् (अक्षरम्/वचनम्)’

• kiṃcit: something
• kiṃcit: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kiṃcit (सर्वनाम/अव्यय-प्रयोग)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; अल्पपरिमाणवाचक ‘something’

• ācaṣṭe: tells/declares
• ācaṣṭe: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ācakṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• mriyamāṇasya: of one who is dying
• mriyamāṇasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛ (धातु) → mriyamāṇa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान-कृदन्त (present passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन; विशेषण of ‘janminaḥ’

• janminaḥ: of the embodied being
• janminaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janmin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• karṇe: in the ear
• karṇe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• akṣaram: a syllable (mantra-syllable)
• akṣaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akṣara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• yadā: when
• yadā: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: काल-अव्यय (temporal adverb: when)

• ākarṇya: having heard
• ākarṇya: Sambandha (Conjunctive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-karṇ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund): ‘having heard’

• mṛtaḥ: dead
• mṛtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• amṛtatām: immortality
• amṛtatām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-mṛta-tā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; तद्धितान्त भाववाचक ‘-तā’

• vrajet: would attain/go to
• vrajet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vraj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (contextual attribution within Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogues)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śambhu close to the ear of a dying person, whispering a single luminous syllable; the syllable depicted as subtle light; the soul rising peacefully; Gaṅgā and Kāśī skyline faintly behind.

Characters & Entities

• Śambhu
• Śiva
• Akṣara (sacred syllable)
• Kāśī (implied by context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Liberation is ultimately grace: Śiva’s imparted mantra transforms the fate of the dying into amṛtatva (mokṣa).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is implied as the setting where this special karṇa-upadeśa of Śiva is famed to occur.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Hearing/receiving the sacred akṣara (mantra-syllable) in the ear at life’s end—Śiva’s karṇa-upadeśa motif.