Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

लिंग स्नपनवार्भिर्यः कुर्यान्मूर्ध्न्यभिषेचनम् । गंगास्नानफलं तस्य जायतेत्र विपाप्मनः

Transliteration

liṃga snapanavārbhiryaḥ kuryānmūrdhnyabhiṣecanam | gaṃgāsnānaphalaṃ tasya jāyatetra vipāpmanaḥ

Translation

Wer das Wasser vom Baden des Liṅga über sein Haupt gießt, erlangt schon hier die Frucht des Badens in der Gaṅgā und wird sündenfrei.

Word by Word

• liṅga-snapana-vārbhiḥ: with the water (used) for bathing the liṅga
• liṅga-snapana-vārbhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + snapana (प्रातिपदिक) + vāri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (लिङ्गस्य स्नपनस्य वारिभिः)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mūrdhni: on the head
• mūrdhni: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrdhan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• abhiṣecanam: sprinkling/ablution
• abhiṣecanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhiṣecana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• gaṃgā-snāna-phalam: the fruit of bathing in the Ganges
• gaṃgā-snāna-phalam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṃgā (प्रातिपदिक) + snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गङ्गायां स्नानस्य फलम्)

• tasya: for him/of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• jāyate: arises/comes about
• jāyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• atra: here
• atra: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: here)

• vipāpmanaḥ: of the sinless one / of him who is free from sin
• vipāpmanaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vipāpman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (तस्य)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā in Kāśī (implied) / Liṅga-snāna-jala as Śiva-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee pours abhiṣeka water from a small vessel onto the crown of the head; behind, the Gaṅgā ghats shimmer, visually indicating equivalence of merit.

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga
• Gaṅgā
• Snāna
• Abhiṣeka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva worship and tīrtha merit converge in Kāśī; sacred waters from devotion can confer tīrtha-like purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā is explicitly praised, within the broader Kāśī framework where Gaṅgā and Śiva are intimately linked.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Use the liṅga-snapana (abhiṣeka) water to perform mūrdhābhiṣeka—pouring/sprinkling on one’s head.