Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

मोक्षलक्ष्मीविलासस्य कलशो यैर्निरीक्षतः । निधानकलशास्तांस्तु न मुंचंति पदेपदे

Transliteration

mokṣalakṣmīvilāsasya kalaśo yairnirīkṣataḥ | nidhānakalaśāstāṃstu na muṃcaṃti padepade

Translation

മോക്ഷലക്ഷ്മീവിഹാരഭവനത്തിന്റെ കലശശിഖരം ദർശിക്കുന്നവരെ, നിധികലശങ്ങളായ സമൃദ്ധികൾ പടിപടിയായി ഒരിക്കലും ഉപേക്ഷിക്കുകയില്ല।

Word by Word

• मोक्षलक्ष्मीविलासस्य: of the ‘play/splendor’ of liberation-fortune
• मोक्षलक्ष्मीविलासस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष-लक्ष्मी-विलास (प्रातिपदिक; components: मोक्ष + लक्ष्मी + विलास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (mokṣa-lakṣmī-vilāsa = ‘vilāsa of mokṣa-lakṣmī’)

• कलशः: the pot
• कलशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• यैः: by whom
• यैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• निरीक्षतः: they behold
• निरीक्षतः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-ईक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• निधानकलशाः: treasure-pots
• निधानकलशाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निधान-कलश (प्रातिपदिक; components: निधान + कलश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘pots of treasure’)

• तान्: them
• तान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• तु: but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थक

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• मुंचन्ति: they release/let go
• मुंचन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम् (spelling variant of मुञ्चन्ति)

• पदे: at a step
• पदे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• पदे: at every step
• पदे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (idiom: pade pade)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, addressing Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied), darśana of the Lord’s prāsāda-śikhara-kalaśa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devotee/ṛṣi interlocutor within Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative frame (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim in Kāśī lifts their gaze to the gleaming kalaśa atop the Lord’s palace/temple; around them, the city’s sacred bustle fades into a halo of auspicious light, while symbolic ‘treasure-jars’ (nidhāna-kalaśas) appear as attendant spirits following each step.

Characters & Entities

• Mokṣa
• Lakṣmī
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a simple act of reverent darśana in Kāśī—like beholding the sacred kalaśa—draws both worldly auspiciousness and the orientation toward mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), especially the sacred palace/mandapa-temple complex described in this adhyāya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite is prescribed; the emphasis is on darśana—seeing the sacred kalaśa with devotion.