Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 120

Devanagari script

आलोक्यालोक्य तल्लिंगं तुतोष हृदये बहु । परमानंदकंदाख्यं स्फुटमेतन्न संशयः

Transliteration

ālokyālokya talliṃgaṃ tutoṣa hṛdaye bahu | paramānaṃdakaṃdākhyaṃ sphuṭametanna saṃśayaḥ

Translation

Le regardant encore et encore, ce Liṅga combla son cœur d’une grande joie. Manifestement, sans aucun doute, c’est bien celui qu’on nomme «Paramānanda-kanda», la racine-bulbe de la béatitude suprême.

Word by Word

• ālokya: having looked at
• ālokya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Absolutive/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-lok (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) अव्यय-भाव; √lok (लोक्) उपसर्गः आ; ‘having seen’

• ālokya: having looked again (repeatedly)
• ālokya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Absolutive/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-lok (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive) पुनरुक्ति (repetition) ‘again and again having looked’

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (लिङ्गम्)

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

• tutoṣa: was delighted
• tutoṣa: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tuṣ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिपूर्णभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम; √tuṣ (तुष्)

• hṛdaye: in (the) heart
• hṛdaye: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛdaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• bahu: greatly/very much
• bahu: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोगेण क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverbial use)

• paramānaṃdakaṃdākhyaṃ: named ‘the bulb/source of supreme bliss’
• paramānaṃdakaṃdākhyaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama-ānanda-kaṃda-ākhya (प्रातिपदिक; parama + ānanda + kaṃda + ākhya)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अत्र विशेषणम् (एतत्/लिङ्गम्) रूपेण; समासः तत्पुरुषः—‘परमानन्दस्य कन्दः इति आख्यः’

• sphuṭam: clearly
• sphuṭam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sphuṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) ‘स्पष्टम्’

• etat: this
• etat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• na: no/not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/प्रथमा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (within Skanda–Agastya dialogue context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Paramānanda-kanda Liṅga

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-audience within the Purāṇic frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee stands before a radiant liṅga, eyes returning again and again; the heart-space is shown blooming with light, as if the liṅga is a luminous ‘bulb-root’ (kanda) of bliss emanating subtle rays.

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga
• Śiva
• Paramānanda-kanda
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Repeated darśana of Śiva’s Liṅga awakens inner bliss, revealing the deity as the very source of supreme joy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A specific Liṅga-māhātmya within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī context—identified by the epithet Paramānanda-kanda.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana (reverent viewing) is implied as a meritorious act; no detailed pūjā steps are stated here.