Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

विद्यमाने महालिंगे महापापौघहारिणि । त्रिविष्टपे पुण्यराशौ मोक्षनिक्षेपसद्मनि

Transliteration

vidyamāne mahāliṃge mahāpāpaughahāriṇi | triviṣṭape puṇyarāśau mokṣanikṣepasadmani

Translation

മഹാലിംഗം നിലനിൽക്കുമ്പോൾ—മഹാപാപപ്രവാഹങ്ങളെ ഹരിക്കുന്നതു—കാശി എന്ന ദിവ്യക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ പുണ്യരാശിയായി, മോക്ഷനിക്ഷേപസദ്മമായി നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു।

Word by Word

• विद्यमाने: when/where (it is) present
• विद्यमाने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विद्यमान (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्: existing/present)

• महालिङ्गे: in the great liṅga
• महालिङ्गे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (महद् लिङ्गम्)

• महापापौघहारिणि: (that) which removes torrents of great sins
• महापापौघहारिणि: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + पाप + ओघ + हारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-सम्बद्ध विशेषण, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (महापापानाम् ओघस्य हारिन् = remover)

• त्रिविष्टपे: in heaven (Triviṣṭapa)
• त्रिविष्टपे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिविष्टप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• पुण्यराशौ: in the heap/abundance of merit
• पुण्यराशौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य + राशि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (पुण्यस्य राशिः)

• मोक्षनिक्षेपसद्मनि: in the abode/treasury where liberation is deposited
• मोक्षनिक्षेपसद्मनि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष + निक्षेप + सद्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (मोक्षस्य निक्षेपः; तस्य सद्म)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahāliṅga in Kāśī (within Kāśī-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/pilgrims (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A monumental liṅga stands radiant in Kāśī; dark clouds labeled ‘mahāpāpa’ disperse; a symbolic treasury-vault motif opens, revealing a lotus marked ‘mokṣa’ being placed as a ‘deposit’.

Characters & Entities

• Mahāliṅga
• Mokṣa
• Puṇya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s Great Liṅga is portrayed as a powerful purifier and a guaranteed sanctuary for liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the ‘triviṣṭapa’ realm, centering on the Mahāliṅga/Trilocana context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; the verse establishes the salvific potency of the Mahāliṅga’s presence in Kāśī.