Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

तेपि स्वनाम्ना लिंगानि शंभुसंतुष्टि काम्यया । प्रतिष्ठाप्य स्थिताः काश्यां विश्वनिर्वाणजन्मनि

Transliteration

tepi svanāmnā liṃgāni śaṃbhusaṃtuṣṭi kāmyayā | pratiṣṭhāpya sthitāḥ kāśyāṃ viśvanirvāṇajanmani

Translation

അവരും ശംഭുവിനെ പ്രസാദിപ്പിക്കുവാൻ ആഗ്രഹിച്ചു, തങ്ങളുടെ പേരിൽ ലിംഗങ്ങൾ പ്രതിഷ്ഠിച്ച്, ലോകനിർവാണത്തിന്റെ ജന്മസ്ഥാനമായ കാശിയിൽ വസിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

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

• sva-nāmnā: by their own name
• sva-nāmnā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) ‘स्वस्य नाम्ना’

• liṅgāni: liṅgas (Śiva-emblems)
• liṅgāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• śaṃbhu-saṃtuṣṭi: (for) Śambhu’s satisfaction
• śaṃbhu-saṃtuṣṭi: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃbhu (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃtuṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी/तृतीया-समर्थ (अर्थतः हेतु/प्रयोजन), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) ‘शम्भोः सन्तुष्टिः’

• kāmyayā: with the desire; for the sake of wishing
• kāmyayā: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण/हेतु), एकवचन

• pratiṣṭhāpya: having installed
• pratiṣṭhāpya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु) उपसर्ग-प्रति; causative pratiṣṭhāpayati
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), causative sense

• sthitāḥ: remained; stayed
• sthitāḥ: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthita (कृदन्त; √sthā)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त (क्त) (used predicatively)

• kāśyām: in Kāśī
• kāśyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• viśva-nirvāṇa-janmani: in the place/birth that is the liberation of the world
• viśva-nirvāṇa-janmani: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक) + nirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) ‘विश्वस्य निर्वाणं (मोक्षः) यस्मिन् जन्मनि/स्थाने’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration-context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The gaṇas perform liṅga-pratiṣṭhā: digging a sanctified pit, placing a liṅga, offering flowers and water, with Śiva’s unseen approval implied; Kāśī’s skyline frames the act.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Śambhu (Śiva)
• liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion expresses itself through consecration of Śiva-liṅgas, and Kāśī is praised as a universal ground of mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is extolled as “viśvanirvāṇajanmanī,” a supreme liberation-giving sacred place.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-pratiṣṭhā (installation/consecration of a Śiva-liṅga) motivated by the wish to please Śambhu.