Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

लिंगं महाबलं नाम सांबादित्यसमीपतः । दर्शनात्स्पर्शनाद्यस्य क्षणादेनो महाबलम्

Transliteration

liṃgaṃ mahābalaṃ nāma sāṃbādityasamīpataḥ | darśanātsparśanādyasya kṣaṇādeno mahābalam

Translation

സാംബാദിത്യന്റെ സമീപത്ത് ‘മഹാബല’ എന്ന നാമത്തിലുള്ള ലിംഗം ഉണ്ട്. അതിന്റെ ദർശനം അല്ലെങ്കിൽ സ്പർശം മാത്രം ചെയ്താൽ ക്ഷണത്തിൽ മഹാപാപം നശിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga (Śiva-emblem)
• लिङ्गम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular)

• महाबलम्: (called) Mahābala, very powerful
• महाबलम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + बल (प्रातिपदिक; कर्मधारयः)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘महच्च तत् बलं’ / नामविशेषणम्

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Appellation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: नाम-निर्देशक-अव्यय (indeclinable used to mark appellation: ‘by name’)

• सांबादित्य-समীপतः: near Sāmbāditya
• सांबादित्य-समীপतः: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सांबादित्य + समीप (प्रातिपदिक; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)
• Form: समీపतः (अव्यय-प्रयोगः; ablatival adverb ‘near/ from vicinity’); ‘सांबादित्यस्य समीपतः’

• दर्शनात्: from seeing
• दर्शनात्: Hetu (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (ablative singular); हेतौ/कारणे (as cause: ‘from seeing’)

• स्पर्शनात्: from touching
• स्पर्शनात्: Hetu (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्पर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (ablative singular); हेतौ (as cause: ‘from touching’)

• यस्य: of which/whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन (genitive singular); नपुंसक/पुंलिङ्ग-सामान्य-रूपम्; सम्बन्धे

• क्षणात्: in a moment
• क्षणात्: Kāla (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (ablative singular); कालवाचक (time: ‘within a moment/from a moment’)

• एनः: sin
• एनः: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular)

• महाबलम्: great, mighty
• महाबलम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + बल (प्रातिपदिक; कर्मधारयः)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण-प्रयोगः (qualifying ‘एनः’)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahābala-liṅga (near Sāmbāditya)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience within the Purāṇic frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A compact shrine beside a radiant Sūrya icon (Sāmbāditya); the Mahābala liṅga stands dark and glossy, garlanded; a devotee’s hand reaches to touch the liṅga as a shadowy ‘sin’ figure dissolves instantly into light.

Characters & Entities

• Mahābala Liṅga
• Sāmbāditya
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contact with Śiva’s presence—through darśana and sparśa—purifies swiftly; the tīrtha is a direct means of pāpa-kṣaya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mahābala Liṅga situated near Sāmbāditya in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana (seeing) and sparśa (touching) of the liṅga are highlighted as efficacious observances.