Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

लिंगप्रासादकरणात्खंडस्फुटित संस्कृतेः । लिंगस्थापनजं पुण्यं हेलयैवेह लभ्यते

Transliteration

liṃgaprāsādakaraṇātkhaṃḍasphuṭita saṃskṛteḥ | liṃgasthāpanajaṃ puṇyaṃ helayaiveha labhyate

Translation

ലിംഗത്തിനായി പ്രാസാദം പണിയുന്നതാലും, തകർന്നതും പൊട്ടിയതും സംസ്‌കരിച്ച് (പുനരുദ്ധരിച്ചു) തീർക്കുന്നതാലും, ഇവിടെ ലിംഗസ്ഥാപനത്തിൽ നിന്നുള്ള പുണ്യം അല്പശ്രമം കൊണ്ടുതന്നെ ലഭിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• लिङ्ग-प्रासाद-करणात्: from the making of the liṅga-temple
• लिङ्ग-प्रासाद-करणात्: अपादान (Cause/source: from/by reason of)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रासाद (प्रातिपदिक) + करण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter) ‘करण’ शब्दः; पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular); ‘लिङ्गस्य प्रासादस्य करणम्’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• खण्ड-स्फुटित-संस्कृतेः: from the repair of what is broken and cracked
• खण्ड-स्फुटित-संस्कृतेः: अपादान (Cause/source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + स्फुटित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; स्फुट् धातोः क्त) + संस्कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; सम्+कृ धातोः क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular); ‘संस्कृति’ (f.) = repair/renovation; ‘खण्डस्फुटित’ इति विशेषण-पूर्वपद; समासार्थः: ‘खण्डस्फुटितस्य (वस्तुनः) संस्कृतिः’

• लिङ्ग-स्थापन-जम्: arising from installing the liṅga
• लिङ्ग-स्थापन-जम्: विशेषण (Qualifier of ‘पुण्यम्’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थापना (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); ‘स्थापनात् जातम्’ इति तत्पुरुष; विशेषण

• पुण्यम्: merit
• पुण्यम्: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• हेलया: casually, with little effort
• हेलया: करण (Manner/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: सम्बन्ध (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (restrictive particle)

• इह: here
• इह: अधिकरण/क्रियाविशेषण (Locative adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: here/in this world)

• लभ्यते: is obtained
• लभ्यते: क्रिया (Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive)

Speaker

Śiva (Devadeva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ratneśvara-liṅga (context) / Kāśī liṅga-prāsāda-sevā

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Umā (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotees and craftsmen restore a cracked shrine and rebuild a liṅga-prāsāda; broken stones are replaced, sanctum cleaned, lamps relit—merit flows effortlessly.

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga
• Prāsāda (temple)
• Kāśī (implied by context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Service to sacred infrastructure—building and repairing Śiva shrines—carries immense merit, especially in Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, where even modest acts of shrine-building or restoration yield great spiritual reward.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Constructing a liṅga-temple and repairing damaged parts; such sevā grants merit akin to liṅga-sthāpana.