Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

साक्षीकृत्येव तल्लिंगं तप्यमानं महत्तपः । प्रत्यवोचं धर्मराजं वरं ब्रूहीति भास्करे

Transliteration

sākṣīkṛtyeva talliṃgaṃ tapyamānaṃ mahattapaḥ | pratyavocaṃ dharmarājaṃ varaṃ brūhīti bhāskare

Translation

Als nähme ich jenen Liṅga selbst zum Zeugen seines großen Tapas, sprach ich zu Dharmarāja: „O Sohn Bhāskaras, sprich — wähle eine Gabe.“

Word by Word

• sākṣīkṛtya: having taken as witness
• sākṣīkṛtya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sākṣin (प्रातिपदिक) + √kṛ (कृ) (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund); ‘having made (as) witness’

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक/अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (liṅgam)

• liṅgam: liṅga
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tapyamānam: being heated/being practiced (in austerity)
• tapyamānam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √tap (तप्) (धातु)
• Form: शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (passive/ātmanepada sense); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (liṅgam)

• mahat: great
• mahat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (tapaḥ)

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• pratyavocam: I replied/spoke back
• pratyavocam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prati + ava + √vac (वच्) (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (imperfect/past), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• dharmarājam: Dharmarāja (Yama)
• dharmarājam: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + rāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (धर्मस्य राजा)

• varam: a boon
• varam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• brūhi: tell/speak
• brūhi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √brū (ब्रू) (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्ति

• bhāskare: in/at Bhāskara (the Sun)
• bhāskare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāskara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण/सम्बोधनसदृश), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dharmarāja (Yama), addressed as Bhāskara’s son

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The speaker, treating the installed liṅga as a solemn witness, addresses Dharmarāja (the Sun’s son) and invites him to choose a boon after great austerity.

Characters & Entities

• Dharmarāja (Yama)
• Bhāskara/Sūrya
• Śiva Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When tapas and devotion are offered before Śiva, divine grace responds—often in the form of a boon aligned with dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, where Śiva’s Liṅga is presented as a living witness to austerity and spiritual attainment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not a prescription but a sacred pattern: performing tapas with the Liṅga as sākṣī (witness) and seeking a dharmic boon.