Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 149

Devanagari script

श्रुत्वा शैलेश माहात्म्यं श्रद्धया परया नरः । पापकंचुकमुत्सृज्य शिवलोकमवाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

śrutvā śaileśa māhātmyaṃ śraddhayā parayā naraḥ | pāpakaṃcukamutsṛjya śivalokamavāpnuyāt

Translation

L’homme qui entend, avec une foi suprême, la grandeur de Śaileśa, rejette le vêtement du péché et parvient au monde de Śiva.

Word by Word

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: श्रु (धातु) + क्त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), ‘श्रुत्वा’ = having heard

• शैलेश: O Lord of the mountain (Śiva)
• शैलेश: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैल (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (शैलानाम् ईशः), पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative/Nominative), एकवचन; अत्र संबोधन/उल्लेखरूपेण

• माहात्म्यम्: greatness/glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• श्रद्धया: with faith
• श्रद्धया: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रद्धा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• परया: supreme/utter
• परया: Vishesana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; श्रद्धायाः विशेषणम्

• नरः: a man/person
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पापकञ्चुकम्: the cloak of sin
• पापकञ्चुकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + कञ्चुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पापस्य कञ्चुकम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उत्सृज्य: having cast off
• उत्सृज्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उत् + सृज् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यपन्त-अव्यय (gerund), ‘त्यक्त्वा’

• शिवलोकम्: Śiva’s world
• शिवलोकम्: Karma (Goal/object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (शिवस्य लोकः), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अवाप्नुयात्: may attain
• अवाप्नुयात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śaileśa

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee seated with folded hands listens to a sage reciting Śaileśa-māhātmya; behind them rises a sacred mountain crowned with a Śiva-liṅga shrine; a dark ‘cloak’ of sin is shown slipping away, replaced by luminous ash-white radiance leading upward toward Śivaloka.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Śaileśa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faithful listening to a tīrtha/deity’s māhātmya purifies sin and leads toward Śiva-realization and Śivaloka.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śaileśa is glorified through its māhātmya (greatness), presented within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa—hearing the māhātmya with parā-śraddhā (supreme faith).