Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 91

Devanagari script

ततः कालेश्वरं तीर्थं वीरश्रेष्ठतरं परम् । कलिकालौ न बाधेते यत्र स्नातं नरोत्तमम्

Transliteration

tataḥ kāleśvaraṃ tīrthaṃ vīraśreṣṭhataraṃ param | kalikālau na bādhete yatra snātaṃ narottamam

Translation

Vient ensuite le saint Kāleśvara Tīrtha, ô le plus éminent des héros, souverainement excellent ; là, celui qui s’y baigne, le meilleur des hommes, n’est atteint ni par Kali ni par le Temps.

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter, from that
• ततः: Sambandha/Sequence (सम्बन्ध/अनन्तर)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; पञ्चमी-अर्थे (‘thereafter/from that’)

• कालेश्वरम्: Kāleśvara
• कालेश्वरम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; काल + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘कालस्य ईश्वरः’ = Lord of Time)

• तीर्थम्: sacred ford
• तीर्थम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• वीरश्रेष्ठतरम्: more excellent than (other) heroic (tīrthas)
• वीरश्रेष्ठतरम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वीर-श्रेष्ठतर (प्रातिपदिक; वीर + श्रेष्ठतर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘वीराणां श्रेष्ठतरम्’ = superior among heroes)

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कलि: Kali (age/personification)
• कलि: Samasa-anga (समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; समासाङ्ग (component: Kali)

• कालौ: two times/ages
• कालौ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन

• कलिकालौ: Kali and Time (as a pair) / the Kali-age and Time
• कलिकालौ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि-काल (प्रातिपदिक; कलि + काल)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘कलिः च कालः’ इति द्वन्द्वार्थे न, अपि तु ‘कलिः एव कालः’/‘कलिकालः’—पाठानुसारं द्विवचन)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• बाधेते: afflict, trouble
• बाधेते: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √बाध् (पीडने) (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present Indicative), प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन; आत्मनेपद

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक देशवाचक

• स्नातम्: (one) bathed
• स्नातम्: Karma/Condition (कर्म; ‘having bathed’ as condition)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √स्ना (स्नाने) (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र ‘नरोत्तमम्’ इति कर्म/उपपदेन सह (accusative absolute-like usage)

• नरोत्तमम्: the best of men
• नरोत्तमम्: Karma (कर्म/Object of ‘bādhete’ in sense ‘do not afflict’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर-उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक; नर + उत्तम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘उत्तमो नरः’ = best of men)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāleśvara Tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vīraśreṣṭha (addressed as ‘best of heroes’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dark-stone Śiva-liṅga or Kāleśvara shrine near a tīrtha; the bather emerges with a radiant protective circle; behind, symbolic imagery of a fading hourglass/black serpent of time and a dim Kali-yuga shadow kept at bay.

Characters & Entities

• Kāleśvara Tīrtha
• Kali
• Kāla (Time/Death)
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Alignment with the Lord of Time through tīrtha-sevā is said to grant fearlessness—transcending the harms of Kali-yuga and the pressure of Time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāleśvara Tīrtha, associated with Kāleśvara (Śiva as Lord of Time).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna at Kāleśvara Tīrtha, with the promised protection from Kali and Kāla.