Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

असंख्यातानि लिंगानि पार्वत्यानंदकानने । स्थूलान्यपि च सूक्ष्माणि नानारत्नमयानि च

Transliteration

asaṃkhyātāni liṃgāni pārvatyānaṃdakānane | sthūlānyapi ca sūkṣmāṇi nānāratnamayāni ca

Translation

പാർവതിയുടെ ആനന്ദകാനനത്തിൽ അസംഖ്യ ശിവലിംഗങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ട്—ചിലത് സ്ഥൂലം, ചിലത് സൂക്ഷ്മം, കൂടാതെ പലതും നാനാരത്നമയമാണ്।

Word by Word

• asaṃkhyātāni: countless
• asaṃkhyātāni: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-saṃkhyāta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √khyā (धातु) + sam- + niṣedha a-)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘असंख्यात’ = uncounted

• liṅgāni: liṅgas (emblems)
• liṅgāni: Karma/Pradhāna (Object/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• pārvatyānandakānane: in the grove called ‘Pārvatī-Ānanda’
• pārvatyānandakānane: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārvatī-ānanda-kānana (प्रातिपदिकानि: pārvatī + ānanda + kānana)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; स्थानवाचक (locative)

• sthūlāni: gross, large
• sthūlāni: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha/Avadhāraṇa (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle); ‘also/even’

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• sūkṣmāṇi: subtle, small
• sūkṣmāṇi: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sūkṣma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• nānāratnamayāni: made of various gems
• nānāratnamayāni: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā-ratna-maya (प्रातिपदिकानि: nānā + ratna + maya)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; ‘-maya’ = made of

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandakānana (within Avimukta/Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous grove in Kāśī filled with countless liṅgas—some towering, some tiny—glinting as if made of gems; devotees move from shrine to shrine under flowering trees.

Characters & Entities

• Pārvatī
• Ānandakānana
• Kāśī
• Śiva-liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s Ānandakānana is portrayed as overflowing with Śiva-presence; even the variety and abundance of liṅgas signals the inexhaustible sanctity of the kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānandakānana (the bliss-grove) within Kāśī/Vārāṇasī, associated with Pārvatī and Śiva.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse primarily establishes the kṣetra’s liṅga-abundance as a basis for later worship/merit.