Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

काशीपुरी परिसरे मणिकर्णिकायां त्यक्त्वा तनुं तनुभृतस्तनुमाप्नुवंति । भाले विलोचनवतीं गलनीललक्ष्मीं वामार्धबंधुरवधूं विधुरावरोधाः

Transliteration

kāśīpurī parisare maṇikarṇikāyāṃ tyaktvā tanuṃ tanubhṛtastanumāpnuvaṃti | bhāle vilocanavatīṃ galanīlalakṣmīṃ vāmārdhabaṃdhuravadhūṃ vidhurāvarodhāḥ

Translation

കാശിയിലെ മണികർണ്ണികയിൽ ദേഹത്യാഗം ചെയ്യുന്ന ജീവികൾ ശിവരൂപം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു. അവർ തടസ്സങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് മുക്തരായി അർദ്ധനാരീശ്വര ശക്തിയെ പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• kāśī-purī: in Kāśī city
• kāśī-purī: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + purī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (काशी एव पुरी)

• parisare: in the vicinity
• parisare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parisara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• maṇikarṇikāyām: at Maṇikarṇikā
• maṇikarṇikāyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇikarṇikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• tyaktvā: having abandoned
• tyaktvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having abandoned)

• tanum: the body
• tanum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• tanu-bhṛtaḥ: embodied beings
• tanu-bhṛtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhṛt (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (तनुं बिभ्रति इति)

• tanum: a body
• tanum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• āpnuvaṃti: attain
• āpnuvaṃti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• bhāle: on the forehead
• bhāle: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• vilocana-vatīm: having an eye (three-eyed)
• vilocana-vatīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vilocana (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष/उपपद-समास (विलोचनं यस्याः सा)

• gala-nīla-lakṣmīm: the blue-throated goddess (splendour)
• gala-nīla-lakṣmīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gala (प्रातिपदिक) + nīla (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣmī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (गलः नीलः यस्याः—blue-throated splendour; epithet of Pārvatī/Śakti)

• vāma-ardha-bandhura-avadhūm: the bride lovely on the left half (Śiva’s left side)
• vāma-ardha-bandhura-avadhūm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāma (प्रातिपदिक) + ardha (प्रातिपदिक) + bandhura (प्रातिपदिक) + avadhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (वामार्धे बन्धुरा या अवधूः = the bride lovely on the left half)

• vidhura-avarodhāḥ: widowed women (of the harem)
• vidhura-avarodhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhura (प्रातिपदिक) + avarodha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (विधुराः एव अवरोधाः = widowed women of the inner apartments)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-audience within Kāśī-māhātmya frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Maṇikarṇikā ghat: funeral pyres glow; above the smoke, a luminous subtle-form rises, guided by Śiva’s grace; Śakti appears as a radiant bride with blue-throated auspiciousness (echoing Nīlakaṇṭha symbolism) and gentle eyes, signifying union with the divine.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Maṇikarṇikā
• Śiva (Nīlakaṇṭha implication)
• Śakti / Pārvatī (as Śiva’s left half)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse proclaims Kāśī’s Maṇikarṇikā as a supreme liberating zone where relinquishing the body leads to a higher, divinized state, free of worldly impediments.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Maṇikarṇikā in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), presented as a uniquely powerful tīrtha within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual (snāna, dāna, japa) is prescribed in this verse; it emphasizes the salvific fruit associated with giving up the body at Maṇikarṇikā.