Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

विधाय महती पूजां पंचामृतपुरःसराम् । अस्य लिंगस्य लभते पुरुषार्थचतुष्टयम्

Transliteration

vidhāya mahatī pūjāṃ paṃcāmṛtapuraḥsarām | asya liṃgasya labhate puruṣārthacatuṣṭayam

Translation

Après avoir accompli une grande adoration de ce Liṅga, avec le pañcāmṛta comme offrande première, on obtient les quatre buts de la vie humaine.

Word by Word

• vidhāya: having performed
• vidhāya: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√dhā (धा) क्त्वान्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त: ‘having performed’

• mahatīm: great
• mahatīm: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (महत्) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (पूजाम्)

• pūjām: worship
• pūjām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūjā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• paṃcāmṛta-puraḥsarām: preceded by pañcāmṛta (five nectars)
• paṃcāmṛta-puraḥsarām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paṃca (प्रातिपदिक) + amṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + puraḥsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः; विशेषणम् (पूजाम्): ‘preceded by pañcāmṛta’

• asya: of this
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम्) सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• liṅgasya: of the liṅga
• liṅgasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• labhate: obtains
• labhate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √labh (लभ्, प्राप्तौ)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• puruṣārtha-catuṣṭayam: the four aims of human life
• puruṣārtha-catuṣṭayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣārtha (प्रातिपदिक) + catuṣṭaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (पुरुषार्थाणां चतुष्टयम्)

Speaker

Śiva (consistent with the Liṅga-māhātmya proclamations in Adhyāya 49)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Liṅga of Kāśī (Liṅgarāja)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Amarāḥ (devas/immortals)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grand pañcāmṛta pūjā: priests pour milk, curd, ghee, honey, and sweetened offering over the liṅga; the four puruṣārthas appear symbolically as four radiant emblems around the shrine.

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga
• Pañcāmṛta
• Puruṣārthas (dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s Śaiva worship is framed as complete: it supports worldly well-being and culminates in liberation (mokṣa).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, where worship of the chapter’s praised Liṅga is said to grant the full spectrum of human aspirations.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A ‘mahatī pūjā’ featuring pañcāmṛta (pañcāmṛta-abhiṣeka/offering) as the principal rite.