Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

नामश्रवणतोपीह यल्लिंगानां शुभानने । वृजिनानि क्षयं यांति वर्धंते पुण्यराशयः

Transliteration

nāmaśravaṇatopīha yalliṃgānāṃ śubhānane | vṛjināni kṣayaṃ yāṃti vardhaṃte puṇyarāśayaḥ

Translation

O du Schönangesichtige, schon durch das bloße Hören der Namen dieser Liṅgas werden die Sünden vernichtet und die Schätze des Verdienstes mehren sich.

Word by Word

• नाम-श्रवणतः: from (the act of) hearing the name
• नाम-श्रवणतः: Hetu/Apadana (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रवण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नाम्नः श्रवणम्)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb)

• यत्: whose/of which
• यत्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (relative)

• लिङ्गानाम्: of the liṅgas
• लिङ्गानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• शुभानने: O fair-faced one
• शुभानने: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक) + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहिः (शुभम् आननं यस्याः सा = ‘O you of auspicious face’)

• वृजिनानि: sins/evils
• वृजिनानि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृजिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• क्षयम्: destruction
• क्षयम्: Gati/Karma (गति/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• यान्ति: go/attain
• यान्ति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• वर्धन्ते: increase
• वर्धन्ते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वृध् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• पुण्य-राशयः: stores of merit
• पुण्य-राशयः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + राशि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (पुण्यस्य राशिः = ‘heap of merit’)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Siddhaliṅga-nāma-śravaṇa (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: a beloved interlocutor (commonly Devasenā)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher recites the names of Kāśī’s liṅgas to a gathered circle; sound-waves depicted as luminous ribbons dissolving dark ‘pāpa’ clouds and forming a heap of shining ‘puṇya’ jewels.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva-liṅgas of Kāśī (implied)
• Ānandakānana (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contact with the sacred—especially through nāma (holy names)—purifies: even hearing the names of Kāśī’s liṅgas reduces sin and multiplies merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī/Ānandakānana, through the glorification of its principal Śiva-liṅgas whose names themselves are salvific.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nāma-śravaṇa (devout listening to the names of the liṅgas) is presented as a spiritual practice yielding pāpa-kṣaya and puṇya-vृद्धि.