Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

यदुक्तं लिगमेकैकं महासारतरं परम् । काश्यां परमनिर्वाणकारणं कारणेश्वर

Transliteration

yaduktaṃ ligamekaikaṃ mahāsārataraṃ param | kāśyāṃ paramanirvāṇakāraṇaṃ kāraṇeśvara

Translation

„O Kāraṇeśvara, du hast gesagt, dass jeder Liṅga, einer nach dem anderen, von höchster Wesentlichkeit ist—ja, die Ursache des höchsten Heils und der Befreiung in Kāśī.“

Word by Word

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relational)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• उक्तं: said
• उक्तं: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga
• लिङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• एकैकम्: each (one by one)
• एकैकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक + एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण; (एक-एक = each one)

• महासारतरम्: more essential/greater in essence
• महासारतरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महासार + तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण; तर-प्रत्यय (comparative)

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• काश्यां: in Kāśī
• काश्यां: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• परमनिर्वाणकारणम्: cause of supreme liberation
• परमनिर्वाणकारणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परम + निर्वाण + कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (निर्वाणस्य कारणम्) with पूर्वपद-विशेषण (परम)

• कारणेश्वर: O Lord of causes
• कारणेश्वर: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कारणानाम् ईश्वरः)

Speaker

Devī (Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī liṅga-s (collective)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śiva (addressed as Kāraṇeśvara)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī addresses Śiva as Kāraṇeśvara, emphasizing that each liṅga in Kāśī is supremely essential and a cause of highest liberation; the scene is doctrinal and reverent.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Śiva (Kāraṇeśvara)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kāśī, the worship and remembrance of Śiva’s liṅgas is taught as a direct cause of the highest liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), presented as a liberation-bestowing kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, devotion toward each liṅga is praised; no explicit rite is detailed in this verse.