Shloka 52

Vyāsotpatti-kathana

Account of the Birth/Origin of Vyāsa

Devanagari script

प्राप्य वाराणसीतीर्थं दृष्ट्वाथ मणिकर्णिकाम् । कोटिजन्मार्जितं पापं तत्याज स मुनीश्वरः

Transliteration

prāpya vārāṇasītīrthaṃ dṛṣṭvātha maṇikarṇikām | koṭijanmārjitaṃ pāpaṃ tatyāja sa munīśvaraḥ

Translation

ವಾರಾಣಸೀ ತೀರ್ಥವನ್ನು ಪಡೆದು ನಂತರ ಮಣಿಕರ್ಣಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ದರ್ಶಿಸಿ ಆ ಮುನೀಶ್ವರನು ಕೋಟಿ ಜನ್ಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಚಿತವಾದ ಪಾಪವನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿದನು।

Word by Word

• prāpya: having reached/obtained
• prāpya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण; prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (धातु) + pra- उपसर्ग; prāpya (कृदन्त)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), from √āp with pra-; ‘having obtained/reached’

• vārāṇasī-tīrtham: the Vārāṇasī pilgrimage-place
• vārāṇasī-tīrtham: Karma (कर्म; object of prāpya)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; तत्पुरुष: वारणस्याः तीर्थम् (genitive relation)

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण; prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु); dṛṣṭvā (कृदन्त)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), from √dṛś; ‘having seen’

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध; discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle/indeclinable (निपात); sequence marker ‘then/thereupon’

• maṇikarṇikām: Maṇikarṇikā (ghāṭ/holy spot)
• maṇikarṇikām: Karma (कर्म; object of dṛṣṭvā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇikarṇikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• koṭi-janma-arjitam: accumulated over crores of births
• koṭi-janma-arjitam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण; qualifier of pāpam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: koṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + janman (प्रातिपदिक) + arjita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; agrees with pāpam; compound sense ‘earned over (many) crores of births’ (तत्पुरुष/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karma (कर्म; object of tatyāja)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• tatyāja: abandoned/left behind
• tatyāja: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tyaj (धातु); tatyāja (तिङन्त)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), Parasmaipada; 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता; subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; pronoun

• munīśvaraḥ: lord of sages
• munīśvaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता; apposition to saḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; तत्पुरुष: मुनीनां ईश्वरः (genitive relation)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya, as typical Purāṇic frame for the Śiva Purāṇa)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha

Sthala Purana: Maṇikarṇikā in Kāśī is famed as a supreme tīrtha where sins are destroyed; beholding it is said to eradicate pāpa accumulated over innumerable births.

Significance: Darśana of Maṇikarṇikā is presented as extraordinary pāpa-kṣaya; in Siddhānta idiom, karmic pāśa is weakened, enabling receptivity to Śiva’s liberating grace.

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Vārāṇasī
• Maṇikarṇikā

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It teaches the extraordinary purifying power of Kashi (Vārāṇasī) and Maṇikarṇikā: mere arrival and darśana can dissolve deeply rooted pāpa, pointing to Shiva’s grace operating through sacred space (kṣetra-māhātmya) as a means toward purification and moksha.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

Kashi is upheld as Shiva’s own kṣetra where Saguna Shiva is approached through tīrtha-darśana, temple worship, and remembrance; the verse implies that proximity to Shiva’s abode and symbols of his presence (liṅga, kṣetra, tīrtha) accelerates inner cleansing and readiness for liberation.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Pilgrimage with reverent darśana is primary; as a takeaway, one may combine Kashi/Manikarnika remembrance with japa of the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and simple Śiva-upāsanā (bhasma/Tripuṇḍra and śiva-dhyāna) to internalize the tīrtha’s purifying intent.