Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

काशीपुरी परिसरे मणिकर्णिकायां त्यक्त्वा तनुं तनुभृतस्तनुमाप्नुवंति । भाले विलोचनवतीं गलनीललक्ष्मीं वामार्धबंधुरवधूं विधुरावरोधाः

Transliteration

kāśīpurī parisare maṇikarṇikāyāṃ tyaktvā tanuṃ tanubhṛtastanumāpnuvaṃti | bhāle vilocanavatīṃ galanīlalakṣmīṃ vāmārdhabaṃdhuravadhūṃ vidhurāvarodhāḥ

Translation

Those embodied beings who cast off their bodies at Maṇikarṇikā, within the precincts of Kāśī, attain a divine form. Freed from every obstacle, they obtain the beloved Bride—fair of brow, radiant of eye, adorned with the auspicious blue splendor at the throat—She who is dear as the Lord’s left half (Śiva’s Śakti).

Word by Word

• kāśī-purī: in Kāśī city
• kāśī-purī: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + purī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (काशी एव पुरी)

• parisare: in the vicinity
• parisare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parisara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• maṇikarṇikāyām: at Maṇikarṇikā
• maṇikarṇikāyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇikarṇikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• tyaktvā: having abandoned
• tyaktvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having abandoned)

• tanum: the body
• tanum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• tanu-bhṛtaḥ: embodied beings
• tanu-bhṛtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhṛt (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (तनुं बिभ्रति इति)

• tanum: a body
• tanum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• āpnuvaṃti: attain
• āpnuvaṃti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• bhāle: on the forehead
• bhāle: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• vilocana-vatīm: having an eye (three-eyed)
• vilocana-vatīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vilocana (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष/उपपद-समास (विलोचनं यस्याः सा)

• gala-nīla-lakṣmīm: the blue-throated goddess (splendour)
• gala-nīla-lakṣmīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gala (प्रातिपदिक) + nīla (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣmī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (गलः नीलः यस्याः—blue-throated splendour; epithet of Pārvatī/Śakti)

• vāma-ardha-bandhura-avadhūm: the bride lovely on the left half (Śiva’s left side)
• vāma-ardha-bandhura-avadhūm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāma (प्रातिपदिक) + ardha (प्रातिपदिक) + bandhura (प्रातिपदिक) + avadhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (वामार्धे बन्धुरा या अवधूः = the bride lovely on the left half)

• vidhura-avarodhāḥ: widowed women (of the harem)
• vidhura-avarodhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhura (प्रातिपदिक) + avarodha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (विधुराः एव अवरोधाः = widowed women of the inner apartments)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-audience within Kāśī-māhātmya frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Maṇikarṇikā ghat: funeral pyres glow; above the smoke, a luminous subtle-form rises, guided by Śiva’s grace; Śakti appears as a radiant bride with blue-throated auspiciousness (echoing Nīlakaṇṭha symbolism) and gentle eyes, signifying union with the divine.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Maṇikarṇikā
• Śiva (Nīlakaṇṭha implication)
• Śakti / Pārvatī (as Śiva’s left half)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse proclaims Kāśī’s Maṇikarṇikā as a supreme liberating zone where relinquishing the body leads to a higher, divinized state, free of worldly impediments.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Maṇikarṇikā in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), presented as a uniquely powerful tīrtha within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual (snāna, dāna, japa) is prescribed in this verse; it emphasizes the salvific fruit associated with giving up the body at Maṇikarṇikā.