Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 95

Devanagari script

अविमुक्तं समासाद्य यो लिंगं स्थापयेत्सुधीः । कल्पकोटिशतैर्वापि नास्ति तस्य पुनर्भवः

Transliteration

avimuktaṃ samāsādya yo liṃgaṃ sthāpayetsudhīḥ | kalpakoṭiśatairvāpi nāsti tasya punarbhavaḥ

Translation

അവിമുക്തത്തെ പ്രാപിച്ച് ശിവലിംഗം സ്ഥാപിക്കുന്ന സുദീയ്ക്ക്, കോടിക്കണക്കിന് കല്പങ്ങൾ കഴിഞ്ഞാലും പുനർജന്മമില്ല.

Word by Word

• अविमुक्तम्: Avimukta (Kāśī)
• अविमुक्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविमुक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; गत्यर्थक-क्रियायाः कर्म

• समासाद्य: having reached/approached
• समासाद्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्-आ-सद् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• यः: whoever
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga (Śiva emblem)
• लिङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्थापयेत्: should स्थापित/establish
• स्थापयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु) + णिच् (causative)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• सुधीः: the wise person
• सुधीः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु + धी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘यः’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• कल्पकोटिशतैः: by hundreds of crores of kalpas
• कल्पकोटिशतैः: Karana (Measure/करण-परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प + कोटि + शत (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; परिमाण/अवधि-निर्देश (by hundreds of crores of kalpas)

• वा: even/though
• वा: Modifier (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive/‘even if’)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Modifier (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अप्यर्थ निपात (emphatic)

• न: not
• न: Modifier (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• अस्ति: is/exists
• अस्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तस्य: for him/of him
• तस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पुनर्भवः: rebirth
• पुनर्भवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुनर्भव (प्रातिपदिक; पुनः+भव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अस्ति’ इत्यस्य कर्तृ/विषय (existence as subject)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wise pilgrim in Avimukta installs a Śiva-liṅga on a sanctified pedestal; devas witness from above; time is symbolized by vast kalpa-wheels dissolving, yet the devotee’s liberation remains unshaken.

Characters & Entities

• Avimukta
• Śiva-liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional acts performed in Avimukta—especially liṅga-pratiṣṭhā—are portrayed as yielding enduring liberation from rebirth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-sthāpana (establishing/installing a Śiva-liṅga) in Avimukta.