Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

कलिकल्मषबुद्धीनां नाख्येयानि कदाचन । एतान्याराधयेद्यस्तु लिंगानीह चतुर्दश

Transliteration

kalikalmaṣabuddhīnāṃ nākhyeyāni kadācana | etānyārādhayedyastu liṃgānīha caturdaśa

Translation

കലിയിലെ കല്മഷം കൊണ്ടു മലിനമായ ബുദ്ധിയുള്ളവർക്ക് ഇവ ഒരിക്കലും പ്രസ്താവിക്കരുത്; എന്നാൽ ഇവിടെ ഈ പതിനാലു ലിംഗങ്ങളെ ആരാധിക്കുന്നവൻ…

Word by Word

• कलि-कल्मष-बुद्धीनाम्: of those whose minds are tainted by Kali’s impurity
• कलि-कल्मष-बुद्धीनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक) + कल्मष (प्रातिपदिक) + बुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष: ‘कलिकल्मषा बुद्धिः’ → ‘कलिकल्मषबुद्धि’; तस्य षष्ठी बहुवचन), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

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

• आख्येयानि: to be told/declared
• आख्येयानि: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √ख्या (धातु) + अनीयर्/यत् (कृदन्त; potential passive)
• Form: कृदन्त (भाव्य/विधेय: ‘आख्यातुं योग्य’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• कदाचन: ever, at any time
• कदाचन: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचन (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (at any time/ever)

• एतानि: these
• एतानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• आराधयेत्: should worship
• आराधयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √राध् (धातु) + आ (उपसर्ग)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अवधारण-निपात (but/indeed)

• लिङ्गानि: liṅgas
• लिङ्गानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (here)

• चतुर्दश: fourteen
• चतुर्दश: Visheshana (Numeral qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्दशन् (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, द्वितीया (2nd) बहुवचनार्थे अव्ययवत् प्रयोग; ‘चतुर्दश-सङ्ख्यानि’

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Caturdaśa Mahāliṅga rahasya (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied interlocutor within Kāśī-māhātmya dialogue

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher-priest gestures gently to a devoted pilgrim, indicating discretion, while the fourteen liṅgas are shown as veiled or softly obscured for the unprepared; the sincere worshipper’s path is illuminated.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kali-yuga
• Kāśī (implied)
• Fourteen Mahāliṅgas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred knowledge is safeguarded from misuse; devotion and purity qualify one for the kṣetra’s blessings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s network of fourteen mahāliṅgas is upheld as a guarded, highly potent sacred heritage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ārādhana (worship) of the fourteen liṅgas ‘here’ in the kṣetra is the implied practice.