Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

अर्चयित्वा महालिंगमविमुक्तेश्वरं नरः । कृतकृत्यो भवेदत्र न च स्याज्जन्मभाक्कुतः

Transliteration

arcayitvā mahāliṃgamavimukteśvaraṃ naraḥ | kṛtakṛtyo bhavedatra na ca syājjanmabhākkutaḥ

Translation

അവിമുക്തേശ്വര മഹാലിംഗത്തെ അർച്ചിച്ചാൽ മനുഷ്യൻ ഇവിടെ തന്നേ കൃതകൃത്യനാകും; പിന്നെ അവൻ പുനർജന്മഭാജനാകുന്നതെങ്ങനെ?

Word by Word

• अर्चयित्वा: having worshipped
• अर्चयित्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Absolutive; prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), धातु-अर्च्; क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण—‘पूजित्वा/अर्चयित्वा’

• महा-लिङ्गम्: the great liṅga
• महा-लिङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् + लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (‘महच्च तत् लिङ्गम्’)

• अविमुक्त-ईश्वरम्: Avimukteśvara (Lord of Avimukta)
• अविमुक्त-ईश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविमुक्त + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘अविमुक्तस्य ईश्वरः’)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• कृत-कृत्यः: one who has fulfilled his duty
• कृत-कृत्यः: Karta-predicative (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत (कृ धातोः क्त) + कृत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘कृतं कृत्यं येन सः’)—विशेषणम् (नरस्य)

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• स्यात्: would be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• जन्म-भाक्: a partaker of birth (one who is born again)
• जन्म-भाक्: Karta-predicative (Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् + भाज् (धातु; भाक्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (‘जन्म भजते’ = जन्मभाग्)

• कुतः: how/whence (could it be)
• कुतः: Hetu/Prashna (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कुतः (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थ-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: ‘whence/how’)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukteśvara (Avimukta-kṣetra, Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (rṣi/śaunaka-style setting typical of Purāṇas; specific interlocutors not provided in excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim in Kāśī offers flowers, bilva leaves, and water to the great Avimukteśvara liṅga; the sanctum glows with lamp-light, suggesting liberation and the end of rebirth.

Characters & Entities

• Avimukteśvara
• Mahāliṅga
• Avimukta (Kāśī/Varanasi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion and worship of Avimukteśvara in Kāśī is portrayed as a direct cause of life’s fulfillment and freedom from rebirth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta Kṣetra—Kāśī (Varanasi)—especially the shrine of Avimukteśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Arcana (formal worship) of the Mahāliṅga Avimukteśvara.