Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

तत्रैव सिद्धिदं लिंगं मांडव्येश्वरसंज्ञितम् । न तस्य दर्शनाज्जातु दुर्बुद्धिं प्राप्नुयान्नरः

Transliteration

tatraiva siddhidaṃ liṃgaṃ māṃḍavyeśvarasaṃjñitam | na tasya darśanājjātu durbuddhiṃ prāpnuyānnaraḥ

Translation

Dort selbst ist der siddhi-schenkende Liṅga namens Māṇḍavyeśvara; wer ihn schaut, gerät niemals in böse Einsicht oder verkehrten Geist.

Word by Word

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

• एव: indeed
• एव: Prayojaka/Emphasis (Nipāta function/निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• सिद्धिदम्: granting accomplishment
• सिद्धिदम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सिद्धि-द (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga
• लिङ्गम्: Karta/Karma (Contextual/कर्ता/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• माण्डव्येश्वरसंज्ञितम्: named Māṇḍavyeśvara
• माण्डव्येश्वरसंज्ञितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: माण्डव्य-ईश्वर-संज्ञित (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular); ‘माण्डव्येश्वर’ इति संज्ञा यस्य

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• तस्य: of it
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• दर्शनात्: from seeing
• दर्शनात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source/हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• जातु: ever
• जातु: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जातु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक-अव्यय (ever/at any time)

• दुर्बुद्धिम्: bad intellect
• दुर्बुद्धिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्-बुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• प्राप्नुयात्: would attain
• प्राप्नुयात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (contextual continuation in Adhyāya 15)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Māṇḍavyeśvara

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (Kumbhaja)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Within the shrine cluster, the Māṇḍavyeśvara liṅga is shown as a calm focal point; a devotee’s mind is depicted as clearing—dark clouds of ‘durbuddhi’ dispersing into a bright, steady gaze.

Characters & Entities

• Māṇḍavyeśvara
• Śiva-liṅga
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy sight of Kāśī’s liṅgas is said to reform the mind, removing tendencies toward wrong understanding.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Māṇḍavyeśvara liṅga in the Jyeṣṭheśvara vicinity of Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana of the liṅga is the emphasized practice; no additional rite is specified.