Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 92

Devanagari script

रुद्रस्य नैरृते भागे लिंगं तत्र महालयम् । तदग्रे पितृकूपोस्ति पितॄणामालयः परः

Transliteration

rudrasya nairṛte bhāge liṃgaṃ tatra mahālayam | tadagre pitṛkūposti pitṝṇāmālayaḥ paraḥ

Translation

ルドラの境内の南西の方角に、「マハーラヤ」（Mahālaya）と名づけられたリンガが鎮座する。その前には「ピトリ・クーパ」（Pitṛ-kūpa）があり、祖霊の至高の住処である。

Word by Word

• रुद्रस्य: of Rudra
• रुद्रस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — 'of Rudra'

• नैरृते: in the south-west
• नैरृते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नैरृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन — 'in the south-western' (direction)

• भागे: in the region
• भागे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन — 'in the part/region'

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga (Śiva emblem)
• लिङ्गम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन — here as subject

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• महालयम्: great abode (name/epithet)
• महालयम्: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महालय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन — विशेषणम्; समासः: महत् + आलय

• तदग्रे: in front of it
• तदग्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; तद् (तस्य) + अग्रे (सप्तमी एकवचन) → 'in front of that' (adverbial)

• पितृकूपः: the Pitṛ-well
• पितृकूपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ + कूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: पितॄणां कूपः

• अस्ति: is
• अस्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — 'is/exists'

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन — 'of the ancestors'

• आलयः: abode
• आलयः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — predicate/apposition to पितृकूपः

• परः: supreme/excellent
• परः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pitṛ-kūpa (in front of Mahālaya-liṅga)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A south-west corner of a Śiva precinct: a dark stone liṅga labeled ‘Mahālaya’ under a small canopy; directly before it a circular well (kūpa) with stone steps, offerings of sesame, water, and piṇḍa plates nearby; priests guiding pilgrims.

Characters & Entities

• Mahālaya Liṅga
• Pitṛ-kūpa
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Rudra (site/precinct)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī integrates duties to Śiva and to the ancestors, providing sanctified spaces for both devotion and filial dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mahālaya Liṅga and the Pitṛ-kūpa located before it in the Rudra area of Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse identifies the proper locus for pitṛ-related rites (to be detailed in the next verse): the Pitṛ-kūpa before Mahālaya.