Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

तस्य लिंगस्य माहात्म्यमाविर्भावं च सुंदरि । निशामयाभिधास्यामि महापातक नाशनम्

Transliteration

tasya liṃgasya māhātmyamāvirbhāvaṃ ca suṃdari | niśāmayābhidhāsyāmi mahāpātaka nāśanam

Translation

ഹേ സുന്ദരി, ശ്രവിക്കൂ; ആ ലിംഗത്തിന്റെ മഹാത്മ്യവും അതിന്റെ ആവിർഭാവവും ഞാൻ പ്രസ്താവിക്കും—അത് മഹാപാതകങ്ങളെയും നശിപ്പിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• तस्य: of that
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• लिङ्गस्य: of the liṅga
• लिङ्गस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• माहात्म्यम्: greatness/glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• आविर्भावम्: manifestation/appearance
• आविर्भावम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आविर्भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक conjunction)

• सुन्दरि: O beautiful lady
• सुन्दरि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुन्दरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• निशामय: listen/hear
• निशामय: Kriya (Imperative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + शम् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन

• अभिधास्यामि: I shall tell/declare
• अभिधास्यामि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि + धा (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• महापातकनाशनम्: destroying great sins
• महापातकनाशनम्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महापातक + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (महापातकस्य नाशनम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (qualifying माहात्म्यम्/आविर्भावम् as “destroyer of great sins”)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: That Kāśī Liṅga (mahāpātaka-nāśana)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ‘Sundarī’ (female addressee)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A storyteller-sage addresses a ‘sundarī’ listener in a Kāśī courtyard near a shrine; behind them the liṅga glows subtly, indicating imminent narration of its manifestation; listeners sit in attentive semicircle.

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga
• Māhātmya
• Āvirbhāva
• Mahāpātaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hearing the māhātmya of a sacred Liṅga is itself framed as a dharmic act connected with purification from grave sins.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A particular Liṅga in Kāśī/Ānandavana is being introduced; its detailed identity is to follow in the subsequent narration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa (attentive listening) to the māhātmya is explicitly urged; the verse also signals sin-destruction as the fruit.