Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

यदुक्तं लिगमेकैकं महासारतरं परम् । काश्यां परमनिर्वाणकारणं कारणेश्वर

Transliteration

yaduktaṃ ligamekaikaṃ mahāsārataraṃ param | kāśyāṃ paramanirvāṇakāraṇaṃ kāraṇeśvara

Translation

ഹേ കാരണേശ്വരാ! നിങ്ങൾ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തത്—ഓരോ ലിംഗവും ഒന്നൊന്നായി പരമ സാരഭൂതം; കാശിയിൽ അതുതന്നെ പരമ നിർവാണത്തിന്റെ കാരണമാകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relational)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• उक्तं: said
• उक्तं: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

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

• एकैकम्: each (one by one)
• एकैकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक + एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण; (एक-एक = each one)

• महासारतरम्: more essential/greater in essence
• महासारतरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महासार + तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण; तर-प्रत्यय (comparative)

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• काश्यां: in Kāśī
• काश्यां: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• परमनिर्वाणकारणम्: cause of supreme liberation
• परमनिर्वाणकारणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परम + निर्वाण + कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (निर्वाणस्य कारणम्) with पूर्वपद-विशेषण (परम)

• कारणेश्वर: O Lord of causes
• कारणेश्वर: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कारणानाम् ईश्वरः)

Speaker

Devī (Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī liṅga-s (collective)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śiva (addressed as Kāraṇeśvara)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī addresses Śiva as Kāraṇeśvara, emphasizing that each liṅga in Kāśī is supremely essential and a cause of highest liberation; the scene is doctrinal and reverent.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Śiva (Kāraṇeśvara)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kāśī, the worship and remembrance of Śiva’s liṅgas is taught as a direct cause of the highest liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), presented as a liberation-bestowing kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, devotion toward each liṅga is praised; no explicit rite is detailed in this verse.