Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

न सत्यलोके न तपस्यहो सुरा वैकुंठकैलासरसातलेषु । तीर्थं क्वचिद्वै मणिकर्णिकासमं लिंगं च विश्वेश्वरतुल्यमन्यतः

Transliteration

na satyaloke na tapasyaho surā vaikuṃṭhakailāsarasātaleṣu | tīrthaṃ kvacidvai maṇikarṇikāsamaṃ liṃgaṃ ca viśveśvaratulyamanyataḥ

Translation

हे देवो! न सत्यलोक में, न तपोलोक में, न वैकुण्ठ, कैलास या रसातल में कहीं मणिकर्णिका के समान कोई तीर्थ है; और न कहीं अन्यत्र विश्वेश्वर के समान कोई लिंग है।

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• सत्यलोके: in Satyaloka
• सत्यलोके: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (satya-loka)

• न: nor
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• तपसि: in Tapoloka / in austerity-world
• तपसि: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अहो: indeed/ah!
• अहो: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अहो (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मय/सम्बोधन-अव्यय (exclamatory particle)

• सुराः: O gods / the gods
• सुराः: Sambodhana/Karta (Addressed beings)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• वैकुण्ठकैलासरसातलेषु: in Vaikuṇṭha, Kailāsa, and Rasātala
• वैकुण्ठकैलासरसातलेषु: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैकुण्ठ + कैलास + रसातल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (in Vaikuṇṭha, Kailāsa, and Rasātala)

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• तीर्थम्: Karta (Subject/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• क्वचित्: anywhere
• क्वचित्: Adhikaraṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• मणिकर्णिकासमम्: equal to Maṇikarṇikā
• मणिकर्णिकासमम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मणिकर्णिका + सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपमान-तत्पुरुषः (equal to Maṇikarṇikā)

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga
• लिङ्गम्: Karta (Subject/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• विश्वेश्वरतुल्यम्: equal to Viśveśvara
• विश्वेश्वरतुल्यम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विश्वेश्वर + तुल्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (equal to Viśveśvara)

• अन्यतः: elsewhere
• अन्यतः: Adhikaraṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) = ‘elsewhere/from elsewhere’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; address to suras and sthala comparison)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: sura (gods)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A comparative cosmic tableau: Satyaloka and Tapoloka above, Vaikuṇṭha with Viṣṇu’s iconography, Kailāsa with Śiva’s snowy peak, Rasātala below—yet the viewer’s eye is drawn to the luminous Maṇikarṇikā ghāṭa and the Viśveśvara-liṅga at the center, declared unsurpassed.

Characters & Entities

• Satyaloka
• Tapoloka
• Vaikuṇṭha
• Kailāsa
• Rasātala
• Maṇikarṇikā
• Viśveśvara
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as a supreme spiritual geography: Maṇikarṇikā as the unmatched tīrtha and Viśveśvara as the unmatched Liṅga.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Maṇikarṇikā tīrtha in Kāśī, along with Viśveśvara (Kashi Vishwanath).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse motivates pilgrimage (tīrtha-sevā) and worship (liṅga-bhajana) by declaring their unsurpassed status.