Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

द्रवरूपं परित्यज्य ललनारूपधारिणी । प्रत्यक्षरूपिणी तत्र मयैक्षि मणिकर्णिका

Transliteration

dravarūpaṃ parityajya lalanārūpadhāriṇī | pratyakṣarūpiṇī tatra mayaikṣi maṇikarṇikā

Translation

Ihre flüssige (wässrige) Gestalt ablegend und die Form einer Jungfrau annehmend, wurde Maṇikarṇikā dort von mir in unmittelbar sichtbarer Erscheinung geschaut.

Word by Word

• द्रवरूपम्: the liquid form
• द्रवरूपम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रवरूप (प्रातिपदिक) = द्रव + रूप
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (द्रवस्य रूपम्)

• परित्यज्य: having abandoned
• परित्यज्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), त्यक्त्वा-अर्थे; उपसर्गः परि-

• ललनारूपधारिणी: she who bears the form of a maiden
• ललनारूपधारिणी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ललनारूपधारिणी (प्रातिपदिक) = ललना + रूप + धारिणी
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ललनायाः रूपम्) + उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (रूपं धारयति इति धारिणी)

• प्रत्यक्षरूपिणी: manifest in form
• प्रत्यक्षरूपिणी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रत्यक्षरूपिणी (प्रातिपदिक) = प्रत्यक्ष + रूपिणी
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (प्रत्यक्षं रूपं यस्याः/या)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

• ऐक्षि: I saw
• ऐक्षि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ईक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• मणिकर्णिका: Maṇikarṇikā
• मणिकर्णिका: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणिकर्णिका (प्रातिपदिक) = मणि + कर्णिका
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (मणेः कर्णिका)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context typically Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience within the Purāṇic dialogue frame (traditionally sages/Śaunaka group or a royal/ṛṣi interlocutor depending on chapter frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Maṇikarṇikā, the watery essence condenses into a radiant maiden-devī, directly visible to the seer; the ghat steps, lamps, and sacred smoke frame the epiphany.

Characters & Entities

• Maṇikarṇikā
• Kāśī (implied)
• Maṇikarṇikā Tīrtha (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sacred power of Kāśī can become directly perceivable; divine grace is not merely symbolic but can be manifest (pratyakṣa) to the devotee.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Maṇikarṇikā Tīrtha in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), renowned in the Skanda Purāṇa as a supreme liberating sacred place.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the verse introduces a direct vision of the deity connected with Maṇikarṇikā.