Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

यत्रैकपुष्पदानेन शिवलिंगस्य मूर्धनि । दशसौवर्णिकं पुण्यं कस्तां काशीं परित्यजेत्

Transliteration

yatraikapuṣpadānena śivaliṃgasya mūrdhani | daśasauvarṇikaṃ puṇyaṃ kastāṃ kāśīṃ parityajet

Translation

എവിടെ ശിവലിംഗത്തിന്റെ ശിരസ്സിൽ ഒരു പുഷ്പം മാത്രം അർപ്പിച്ചാൽ പത്ത് സ്വർണ്ണദാനത്തോളം പുണ്യം ലഭിക്കുന്നുവോ—ആ കാശിയെ ആര് ഉപേക്ഷിക്കും?

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक)

• एकपुष्पदानेन: by the offering of a single flower
• एकपुष्पदानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक-पुष्प-दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• शिवलिङ्गस्य: of Śiva’s liṅga
• शिवलिङ्गस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव-लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• मूर्धनि: on the top (head)
• मूर्धनि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूर्धन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• दशसौवर्णिकम्: worth ten gold coins
• दशसौवर्णिकम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश-सौवर्णिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; ‘दश’ (ten) + ‘सौवर्णिक’ (gold-coin measure)

• पुण्यम्: merit
• पुण्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• कः: who?
• कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ताम्: that (her)
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• काशीम्: Kāśī
• काशीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• परित्यजेत्: would abandon
• परित्यजेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration, commonly Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī—Śiva-liṅga-pūjā (eka-puṣpa-dāna)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-seeking audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a Kāśī shrine: a devotee places a single fresh flower atop a dark stone Śiva-liṅga; lamps flicker; the act is shown as radiating golden merit, symbolically outweighing heaps of gold.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Śiva-liṅga
• Puṣpa-dāna (flower offering)
• Puṇya (merit)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kāśī, sincere devotion magnifies small offerings into great merit, highlighting grace over extravagance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, especially as a land of powerful Śiva worship centered on the Śiva-liṅga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Offer a single flower on the Śiva-liṅga; it is praised as yielding merit comparable to substantial gold charity.