Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

मार्गशुक्लचतुर्दश्यां कपर्दीश्वर संनिधौ । स्नात्वान्यत्रापि मरणान्न पैशाच्यमवाप्नुयुः

Transliteration

mārgaśuklacaturdaśyāṃ kapardīśvara saṃnidhau | snātvānyatrāpi maraṇānna paiśācyamavāpnuyuḥ

Translation

Le quatorzième jour de la quinzaine claire de Mārgaśīrṣa, s’étant baignés en présence de Kapardīśvara, même s’ils meurent ailleurs, ils ne tombent pas dans l’affliction des piśācas.

Word by Word

• मार्ग-शुक्ल-चतुर्दश्याम्: on the 14th lunar day of the bright fortnight of Mārgaśīrṣa
• मार्ग-शुक्ल-चतुर्दश्याम्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + शुक्ल (प्रातिपदिक) + चतुर्दशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; कालवाचक-सप्तमी (locative of time)

• कपर्दीश्वर: O Kapardīśvara (Śiva)
• कपर्दीश्वर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपर्दीश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• संनिधौ: in the presence (nearby)
• संनिधौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संनिधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया/Adverbial action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; ‘having bathed’

• अन्यत्र: elsewhere
• अन्यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: also/even)

• मरणात्: from (the consequence of) death / after death
• मरणात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; हेतौ/अपादाने (ablative: from/after)

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• पैशाच्यम्: state of being a piśāca (ghoulhood)
• पैशाच्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पैशाच्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• अवाप्नुयुः: would attain
• अवाप्नुयुः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapardīśvara-sannidhi (linked to Piśācamocana tradition in this narrative arc)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya (implied by subsequent verse address ‘ghaṭodbhava’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dawn on the Gaṅgā in Kāśī; pilgrims bathe on śukla-caturdaśī, then approach Kapardīśvara’s shrine with folded hands; a subtle aura of protection dispels shadowy piśāca forms at the margins.

Characters & Entities

• Kapardīśvara (Śiva)
• Mārgaśīrṣa
• Śukla Caturdaśī
• Piśācamocana Tīrtha
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A properly timed tīrtha-rite anchored in Śiva’s presence grants enduring protection beyond place and circumstance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapardīśvara’s vicinity at/near Piśācamocana Tīrtha in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathing on Mārgaśīrṣa bright Caturdaśī at Kapardīśvara’s presence for freedom from paiśācya even after death elsewhere.