Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

विद्यमाने महालिंगे महापापौघहारिणि । त्रिविष्टपे पुण्यराशौ मोक्षनिक्षेपसद्मनि

Transliteration

vidyamāne mahāliṃge mahāpāpaughahāriṇi | triviṣṭape puṇyarāśau mokṣanikṣepasadmani

Translation

Wenn der Große Liṅga gegenwärtig ist—der die Ströme großer Sünden hinwegnimmt—im göttlichen Bereich von Kāśī, einem Hort der Verdienste, einer Wohnstatt, in der Mokṣa (Befreiung) niedergelegt und gesichert wird.

Word by Word

• विद्यमाने: when/where (it is) present
• विद्यमाने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विद्यमान (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्: existing/present)

• महालिङ्गे: in the great liṅga
• महालिङ्गे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (महद् लिङ्गम्)

• महापापौघहारिणि: (that) which removes torrents of great sins
• महापापौघहारिणि: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + पाप + ओघ + हारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-सम्बद्ध विशेषण, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (महापापानाम् ओघस्य हारिन् = remover)

• त्रिविष्टपे: in heaven (Triviṣṭapa)
• त्रिविष्टपे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिविष्टप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• पुण्यराशौ: in the heap/abundance of merit
• पुण्यराशौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य + राशि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (पुण्यस्य राशिः)

• मोक्षनिक्षेपसद्मनि: in the abode/treasury where liberation is deposited
• मोक्षनिक्षेपसद्मनि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष + निक्षेप + सद्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (मोक्षस्य निक्षेपः; तस्य सद्म)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahāliṅga in Kāśī (within Kāśī-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/pilgrims (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A monumental liṅga stands radiant in Kāśī; dark clouds labeled ‘mahāpāpa’ disperse; a symbolic treasury-vault motif opens, revealing a lotus marked ‘mokṣa’ being placed as a ‘deposit’.

Characters & Entities

• Mahāliṅga
• Mokṣa
• Puṇya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s Great Liṅga is portrayed as a powerful purifier and a guaranteed sanctuary for liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the ‘triviṣṭapa’ realm, centering on the Mahāliṅga/Trilocana context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; the verse establishes the salvific potency of the Mahāliṅga’s presence in Kāśī.