Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 170

Devanagari script

कालेश्वरकपर्दीशौ चरणावतिनिर्मलौ । ज्येष्ठेश्वरो नितंबश्च नाभिर्वै मध्यमेश्वरः

Transliteration

kāleśvarakapardīśau caraṇāvatinirmalau | jyeṣṭheśvaro nitaṃbaśca nābhirvai madhyameśvaraḥ

Translation

ಪಾದಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರ್ಮಲ ರಕ್ಷಕರಾಗಿ ಕಾಲೇಶ್ವರ ಮತ್ತು ಕಪರ್ದೀಶರು ಇದ್ದಾರೆ. ನಿತಂಬದಲ್ಲಿ ಜ್ಯೇಷ್ಠೇಶ್ವರ, ನಾಭಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಶ್ಚಯವಾಗಿ ಮಧ್ಯಮೇಶ್ವರನು ಇದ್ದಾನೆ.

Word by Word

• कालेश्वरकपर्दीशौ: Kāleśvara and Kapardīśa
• कालेश्वरकपर्दीशौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल-ईश्वर + कपर्दी-ईश (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (कालेश्वरश्च कपर्दीशश्च)

• चरणावति: presiding over the feet
• चरणावति: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चरण-अवति (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; ‘कालेश्वरकपर्दीशौ’ इति विशेषण; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (चरणयोः अवति/अधिष्ठाता)

• निर्मलौ: pure; spotless (two)
• निर्मलौ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; ‘कालेश्वरकपर्दीशौ’ इति विशेषण

• ज्येष्ठेश्वरः: Jyeṣṭheśvara
• ज्येष्ठेश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्येष्ठ-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (ज्येष्ठः ईश्वरः)

• नितम्बः: the hip
• नितम्बः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नितम्ब (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• नाभिः: the navel
• नाभिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाभि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/उपपादनार्थक (indeed/emphatic particle)

• मध्यमेश्वरः: Madhyameśvara
• मध्यमेश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्यम-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (मध्यमः ईश्वरः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative convention)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāleśvara, Kapardīśa, Jyeṣṭheśvara, Madhyameśvara (Kāśī body-nodes)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stylized human silhouette overlaid on a map of Kāśī; at the feet two liṅgas labeled Kāleśvara and Kapardīśa glow as guardians; at the hips Jyeṣṭheśvara; at the navel Madhyameśvara, with pilgrimage paths like nāḍīs connecting them.

Characters & Entities

• Kāleśvara
• Kapardīśa
• Jyeṣṭheśvara
• Madhyameśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is envisioned as Śiva’s sacred body-field, where specific liṅgas guard and sanctify different ‘limbs’ of the holy geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The liṅga-stations Kāleśvara, Kapardīśa, Jyeṣṭheśvara, and Madhyameśvara within the Kāśī sacred mandala.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is given; the verse functions as a tīrtha-map for darśana and pilgrimage sequencing.