Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

पंचामृतादि स्नपनपूर्वाद्यस्यार्चनादपि । तल्लिंगं कथयेशान भवेच्छ्रेयः परंपरा

Transliteration

paṃcāmṛtādi snapanapūrvādyasyārcanādapi | talliṃgaṃ kathayeśāna bhavecchreyaḥ paraṃparā

Translation

പഞ്ചാമൃതാദികളാൽ സ്നപനം ചെയ്ത് ആരംഭിക്കുന്ന വിധിപൂർവക ആരാധനകൊണ്ടും—ഹേ ഈശാനാ! ആ ലിംഗത്തെ വിവരിക്കണമേ; അതിനാൽ ശ്രേയസ്സിന്റെ അവിഛിന്ന പരമ്പര ലഭിക്കും।

Word by Word

• paṃcāmṛta-ādi: pañcāmṛta etc.
• paṃcāmṛta-ādi: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃca-amṛta-ādi (प्रातिपदिक; पञ्च + अमृत + आदि)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः ‘पञ्चामृतादि’ (etc. like pañcāmṛta)

• snapana: bathing (ablution)
• snapana: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snapana (प्रातिपदिक; √snā (धातु) + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपदम्

• pūrva: preceded by
• pūrva: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपदम् (as ‘preceded by’)

• yat: whose
• yat: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधकं

• arcanāt: from worship
• arcanāt: Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arcana (प्रातिपदिक; √arc (धातु) + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; हेतौ/कारणे

• api: also; even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-निपातः

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; निर्देशार्थकं (demonstrative)

• liṅgam: liṅga
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• kathaya: tell (me)
• kathaya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kathaya (प्रातिपदिक; √kath (धातु) + णिच्)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; णिजन्त (causative: ‘tell’)

• īśāna: O Īśāna (Lord Śiva)
• īśāna: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• bhavet: may there be; would be
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/सम्भावना), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• śreyaḥ: welfare; the good
• śreyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śreyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• paraṃparā: in succession; continuously
• paraṃparā: Sambandha (Apposition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paraṃparā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विधेय-सम्बन्धे (as apposition/‘in succession’)

Speaker

Pārvatī (implicit continuation; addressing Śiva as Īśāna)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandakānana-liṅga (to be identified)

Type: temple

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotees bathe a liṅga with pañcāmṛta (milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar) and water, then decorate with bilva leaves and flowers as Pārvatī requests Śiva to name the liṅga that grants unbroken blessings.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Īśāna)
• Pañcāmṛta
• Snapana
• Arcana
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual worship performed with devotion—especially abhiṣeka—becomes a cause of enduring auspicious welfare.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The liṅga located in Ānandakānana is being sought as the supreme object of worship within that sacred zone.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snapana/abhiṣeka with pañcāmṛta and related substances, followed by arcana (formal worship).