Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

पितामहेश्वरं लिंगं तत्राभ्यर्च्य नरो मुदा । त्रिःसप्तकुलसंयुक्तो मुच्यते नात्र संशयः

Transliteration

pitāmaheśvaraṃ liṃgaṃ tatrābhyarcya naro mudā | triḥsaptakulasaṃyukto mucyate nātra saṃśayaḥ

Translation

അവിടെ പിതാമഹേശ്വരനാമ ലിംഗത്തെ ആനന്ദത്തോടെ ആരാധിച്ചാൽ, മനുഷ്യൻ ത്രിസപ്ത—അഥവാ ഇരുപത്തൊന്ന് തലമുറകളോടുകൂടെ മോക്ഷം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു; ഇതിൽ സംശയമില്ല.

Word by Word

• पितामहेश्वरम्: Pitāmaheśvara (name of Śiva)
• पितामहेश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पितामहस्य ईश्वरः)

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

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: ‘there’)

• अभ्यर्च्य: having worshipped
• अभ्यर्च्य: Kriya (Non-finite verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि+अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); ‘having worshipped’

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

• मुदा: with joy
• मुदा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुद्/मुदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; साधन/हेतु-अर्थे (‘with joy’)

• त्रिःसप्तकुलसंयुक्तः: connected with (i.e., benefiting) twenty-one generations
• त्रिःसप्तकुलसंयुक्तः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रिः-सप्त-कुल-संयुक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः (त्रिःसप्तकुलैः संयुक्तः) बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; विशेषणम् (नरस्य)

• मुच्यते: is liberated
• मुच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, वर्तमानकाल; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive); प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

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

• अत्र: here / in this matter
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Scope/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (‘here/in this matter’)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pitāmaheśvara

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee joyfully offers flowers, bilva leaves, and water to the Pitāmaheśvara liṅga in a Kāśī shrine; behind him, a subtle ancestral procession (21 generations) is shown being uplifted toward light.

Characters & Entities

• Pitāmaheśvara
• Śiva (Maheśvara)
• Liṅga
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional worship of Śiva in Kāśī is portrayed as powerfully liberating, benefiting not only the devotee but also ancestral lineages.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sacred liṅga called Pitāmaheśvara in Kāśī (Varanasi) is being praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Joyful and proper worship (abhyarcana/pūjā) of the Pitāmaheśvara liṅga.