Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

लिंगार्चनरता नित्यमनन्येंद्रियमानसाः । सदैव वारुणाग्नेय स्नानद्वय सुनिर्मलाः

Transliteration

liṃgārcanaratā nityamananyeṃdriyamānasāḥ | sadaiva vāruṇāgneya snānadvaya sunirmalāḥ

Translation

Ever devoted to worship of the Liṅga, with senses and mind unwaveringly fixed (on Śiva), they remain always purified by the twofold bath—of water and of fire.

Word by Word

• liṅga: liṅga (Śiva-emblem)
• liṅga: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (लिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासे पूर्वपद

• arcana: worship
• arcana: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arcana (अर्चन-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासे मध्यपद

• ratāḥ: devoted/engaged
• ratāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rata (रत-प्रातिपदिक; √ram+क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त-विशेषण, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘रत’ = devoted/engaged

• liṅga-arcana-ratāḥ: devoted to worship of the liṅga
• liṅga-arcana-ratāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: liṅga + arcana + rata
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘लिङ्गार्चने रताः’

• nityam: always
• nityam: Sambandha (Adverbial modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (नित्य-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• ananya: exclusive/undistracted
• ananya: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ananya (अनन्य-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रातिपदिक; समासे पूर्वपद; अर्थः ‘अन्य-रहित’

• indriya: senses
• indriya: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indriya (इन्द्रिय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासे मध्यपद

• mānasāḥ: mental/of mind
• mānasāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānasa (मानस-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘of mind/mental’

• ananya-indriya-mānasāḥ: with senses and mind exclusively fixed (undistracted)
• ananya-indriya-mānasāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ananya + indriya + mānasa
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘अनन्ये इन्द्रिये (च) मनसि (च) येषाम्’ (with senses and mind fixed exclusively)

• sadā: always
• sadā: Sambandha (Adverbial modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• vāruṇa: watery (Varuṇa-related)
• vāruṇa: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāruṇa (वारुण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रातिपदिक; समासे पूर्वपद; ‘water-related’

• āgneya: fiery (Agni-related)
• āgneya: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āgneya (आग्नेय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रातिपदिक; समासे पूर्वपद; ‘fire-related’

• snāna: bath
• snāna: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (स्नान-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासे मध्यपद

• dvaya: twofold/pair
• dvaya: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvaya (द्वय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; ‘pair/twofold’

• vāruṇa-āgneya-snāna-dvaya: the two baths (water- and fire-rite)
• vāruṇa-āgneya-snāna-dvaya: Karma (Object/Complement implied/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāruṇa + āgneya + snāna + dvaya
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (as a collective); तत्पुरुषः—‘वारुणं च आग्नेयं च स्नानद्वयम्’ (two baths: water and fire)

• su-nirmalāḥ: very pure
• su-nirmalāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + nirmala (सु + निर्मल-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘अतिशयेन निर्मलाः’

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ascetics perform liṅga-arcana: offering water, bilva leaves, and flowers; nearby a small sacred fire glows, suggesting the ‘āgneya snāna’—purification by fire/heat/ash; faces are absorbed and unwavering.

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga worship
• Pāśupata devotees
• Vāruṇa-snānā (water bath)
• Āgneya-snānā (fire bath)
• Kāśī (implied context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady devotion to the Liṅga, supported by disciplined purification, makes the mind single-pointed and fit for higher realization.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is implied as the prime setting for Liṅga-arcana and purificatory observances that sustain spiritual purity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Regular Liṅga worship and the ‘two baths’—vāruṇa (water cleansing) and āgneya (fire-related purification, e.g., heat/ritual fire austerity).