Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

तूष्णीं प्राप्याथ काशीं सा स्नात्वा मंदाकिनीजले । सखीभिः सहितापश्यल्लिंगं रत्नेश्वरं मम

Transliteration

tūṣṇīṃ prāpyātha kāśīṃ sā snātvā maṃdākinījale | sakhībhiḥ sahitāpaśyalliṃgaṃ ratneśvaraṃ mama

Translation

അവൾ മൗനത്തോടെ കാശിയിലെത്തി മന്ദാകിനീജലത്തിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്തു; പിന്നെ സഖികളോടൊപ്പം എന്റെ രത്നേശ്വര ലിംഗം ദർശിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• तूष्णीम्: silently
• तूष्णीम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तूष्णीम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्राप् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having attained)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/सम्बन्धसूचक (particle: then/and)

• काशीम्: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• काशीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु) + क्त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having bathed)

• मन्दाकिनीजले: in the water of the Mandākinī
• मन्दाकिनीजले: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्दाकिनी (प्रातिपदिक) + जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मन्दाकिन्याः जलम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• सखीभिः: with (her) female friends
• सखीभिः: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सखी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति (करण/सह), बहुवचन

• सहिता: accompanied (together)
• सहिता: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √सह)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (सा इति)

• अपश्यत्: saw
• अपश्यत्: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (imperfect/past); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

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

• रत्नेश्वरम्: Ratneśvara
• रत्नेश्वरम्: Karma (Object complement/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रत्न + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (रत्नानाम् ईश्वरः); पुल्लिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; लिङ्गम् इति विशेषण/नाम

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Narrator (contextually Skanda; ‘mama’ indicates the narrator’s devotional ownership of Ratneśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ratneśvara (Kāśī) with Mandākinī-snānīya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A sage/audience in the Purāṇic frame (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A quiet pilgrim maiden enters Kāśī, bathes in a sacred water-body called Mandākinī, then with her friends approaches and beholds the jewel-like Ratneśvara liṅga in a shrine lit by lamps.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Mandākinī
• Ratneśvara
• Śiva-liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage ripens through discipline: silence, sacred bathing, and then Śiva-darśana at a celebrated Kāśī liṅga.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), the Mandākinī bathing-place, and Ratneśvara-liṅga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) in Mandākinī waters, followed by darśana of Ratneśvara-liṅga.