Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

पार्वत्युवाच । आनंदकानने शंभो यल्लिंगं पुण्यवर्धनम् । यन्नामस्मरणादेव महापातकसंक्षयः

Transliteration

pārvatyuvāca | ānaṃdakānane śaṃbho yalliṃgaṃ puṇyavardhanam | yannāmasmaraṇādeva mahāpātakasaṃkṣayaḥ

Translation

പാർവതി പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ ശംഭോ! ആനന്ദകാനനത്തിൽ പുണ്യം വർധിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ആ ലിംഗം ഏതാണ്? അതിന്റെ നാമസ്മരണ മാത്രം കൊണ്ടുതന്നെ മഹാപാതകങ്ങൾ ക്ഷയിക്കുമോ?

Word by Word

• pārvatī: Pārvatī
• pārvatī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• ānandakānane: in the Ānandakānana (forest of bliss)
• ānandakānane: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānanda-kānana (प्रातिपदिक; आनन्द + कानन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरणे

• śaṃbho: O Śambhu
• śaṃbho: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃbhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• yat: which
• yat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधकं यत्-प्रत्ययान्तं (relative pronoun)

• liṅgam: liṅga (emblem)
• liṅgam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• puṇyavardhanam: increasing merit
• puṇyavardhanam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya-vardhana (प्रातिपदिक; पुण्य + वर्धन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (agreeing with liṅgam)

• yat: whose/which
• yat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधकं (relative)

• nāma: name
• nāma: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपदम् (in compound)

• smaraṇāt: from remembering
• smaraṇāt: Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √smṛ (धातु) + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; हेतौ/कारणे (ablative of cause)

• eva: indeed; just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपातः (emphatic particle)

• mahāpātakasaṃkṣayaḥ: destruction of great sins
• mahāpātakasaṃkṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-pātaka-saṃkṣaya (प्रातिपदिक; महा + पातक + संक्षय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Pārvatī (explicit)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandakānana-liṅga (specific liṅga to be identified in ensuing passage)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pārvatī, seated beside Śiva in a serene grove of Kāśī (Ānandakānana), asks with folded hands about the merit-increasing liṅga whose name destroys great sins.

Characters & Entities

• Pārvatī
• Śiva (Śambhu)
• Ānandakānana
• Liṅga
• Mahāpātaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine name and the sacred site together are presented as powerful means of purification and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ānandakānana, a celebrated sacred grove/zone within the Kāśī sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nāma-smaraṇa: remembrance of the liṅga’s name as a purifier of great sins.