Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

तदुत्तरे विलोक्याथ नंदिषेणेश्वरं नरः । आनंदसेनां संप्राप्य जयेन्मृत्युमपि क्षणात्

Transliteration

taduttare vilokyātha naṃdiṣeṇeśvaraṃ naraḥ | ānaṃdasenāṃ saṃprāpya jayenmṛtyumapi kṣaṇāt

Translation

Kemudian, memandang sedikit lebih jauh, siapa yang menatap Nandiṣeṇeśvara akan mencapai Ānandasena, rombongan kebahagiaan suci, dan sekejap menaklukkan bahkan maut.

Word by Word

• taduttare: in the northern (part) beyond that
• taduttare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; तद्धित-समासः (तत्+उत्तरे) = ‘तस्मिन् उत्तरे’ (locative)

• vilokya: having looked (at)
• vilokya: Kriya (Non-finite verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi√lok (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having seen/after looking’

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/सम्बन्धसूचक (particle: then/now)

• naṃdiṣeṇeśvaram: Nandiṣeṇa-Īśvara (a form of Śiva)
• naṃdiṣeṇeśvaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naṃdiṣeṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘नन्दिषेणस्य ईश्वरः’

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• ānaṃdasenām: Ānandasena (name of a place/area)
• ānaṃdasenām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānaṃdasenā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• saṃprāpya: having reached
• saṃprāpya: Kriya (Non-finite verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam√prāp (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having reached/after attaining’

• jayet: would conquer
• jayet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ji (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• mṛtyum: death
• mṛtyum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-कार (particle: even/also)

• kṣaṇāt: within a moment; instantly
• kṣaṇāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादानार्थे (ablative: from/within)

Speaker

Skanda (contextual, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nandiṣeṇeśvara

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim walks a little further along a Kāśī lane/ghāṭa path and beholds the Nandiṣeṇeśvara liṅga; behind, a subtle vision of radiant gaṇas—Ānandasena—forming a blissful host, while the shadow of Death recoils.

Characters & Entities

• Nandiṣeṇeśvara
• Ānandasena
• Mṛtyu (Death)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kāśī, mere darśana of Śiva’s liṅgas is praised as immediately transformative—granting fearlessness and victory over death through Śiva’s grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nandiṣeṇeśvara, a revered Śiva-liṅga/spot within the sacred circuit of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) described in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The act prescribed is darśana (beholding/visiting) Nandiṣeṇeśvara; no separate dāna, snāna, or japa is specified in this verse.