Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

तत्पुण्यं नैमिषारण्यात्कोटिकोटिगुणं स्मृतम् । गोकर्णायतनादत्र स्वयमाविरभून्महत्

Transliteration

tatpuṇyaṃ naimiṣāraṇyātkoṭikoṭiguṇaṃ smṛtam | gokarṇāyatanādatra svayamāvirabhūnmahat

Translation

Das Verdienst dessen gilt als um Abermillionen mal Abermillionen größer als das von Naimiṣāraṇya. Hier offenbarte sich aus dem Heiligtum von Gokarṇa der Große aus eigenem Antrieb.

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular); विशेषण-प्रयोगः (demonstrative)

• पुण्यम्: merit, holy merit
• पुण्यम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular)

• नैमिषारण्यात्: from the Naimiṣa forest
• नैमिषारण्यात्: Apādāna (Source/From)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैमिष-अरण्य (प्रातिपदिक; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (ablative singular); ‘नैमिषस्य अरण्यम्’

• कोटि-कोटि-गुणम्: crores upon crores of times (greater)
• कोटि-कोटि-गुणम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोटि + कोटि + गुण (प्रातिपदिक; द्विगु/तत्पुरुष-समासः)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular); ‘कोटिकोट्या गुणः’ = ten-million-times-fold

• स्मृतम्: is said/considered
• स्मृतम्: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘स्मृत’ = said/remembered

• गोकर्ण-आयतनात्: from the shrine of Gokarṇa
• गोकर्ण-आयतनात्: Apādāna (Source/From)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोकर्ण + आयतन (प्रातिपदिक; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (ablative singular); ‘गोकर्णस्य आयतनम्’

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• स्वयम्: of itself, spontaneously
• स्वयम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: स्वतन्त्र-क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (reflexive adverb: ‘by itself/oneself’)

• आविरभूत्: appeared, manifested
• आविरभूत्: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आविर् + भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘आविर्-भू’ = to manifest/appear

• महत्: great
• महत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular); विशेषण-प्रयोगः

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Brahmāvarta (Kāśī) / Gokarṇa-āyatana vicinity

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer sages/devotees (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim enters a dense, lamp-lit Kāśī lane; a small shrine marked ‘Gokarṇa’ glows as Śiva’s presence is felt as self-manifest, with subtle radiance emerging from the liṅga/garbhagṛha; sages recall Naimiṣa in the background as a distant forest contrast.

Characters & Entities

• Naimiṣāraṇya
• Gokarṇa Āyatana
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Devadeva/Śiva (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is exalted as a supreme merit-field where even famed forest tīrthas are surpassed, because divinity is self-manifest there.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Brahmāvarta’s merit in Kāśī and the Gokarṇa shrine (Gokarṇāyatana) as a locus of divine manifestation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new rite is added; the verse magnifies the resulting puṇya and grounds it in the deity’s svayaṃ-āvirbhāva (self-manifestation).