Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

कुक्कुटेश्वर लिंगस्य येत्र भक्तिं वितन्वते । कुक्कुटांडाकृतेस्तस्य न ते गर्भमवाप्नुयुः

Transliteration

kukkuṭeśvara liṃgasya yetra bhaktiṃ vitanvate | kukkuṭāṃḍākṛtestasya na te garbhamavāpnuyuḥ

Translation

കോഴിമുട്ടയുടെ ആകൃതിയുള്ള കുക്കുടേശ്വര ലിംഗത്തോട് ഭക്തി വ്യാപിപ്പിക്കുന്നവർ വീണ്ടും ഗർഭപ്രാപ്തി (പുനർജന്മം) നേടുകയില്ല।

Word by Word

• kukkuṭeśvara: of Kukkuṭeśvara
• kukkuṭeśvara: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kukkuṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन (सम्बन्धे); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-नाम ‘कुक्कुटस्य ईश्वरः’

• liṅgasya: of the liṅga
• liṅgasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• ye: those who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक (relative pronoun: those who)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (adverb of place: here)

• bhaktim: devotion
• bhaktim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• vitanvate: extend; spread; cultivate
• vitanvate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi√tan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• kukkuṭāṃḍākṛteḥ: of the egg-shaped form (like a cock’s egg)
• kukkuṭāṃḍākṛteḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kukkuṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + aṃḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + ākṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘कुक्कुट-अण्डस्य आकृतिः’ (egg-shape)

• tasya: of that (liṅga)
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• garbham: womb; pregnancy; conception
• garbham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: garbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• avāpnuyuḥ: would obtain; would attain
• avāpnuyuḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava√āp (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda (contextual, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kukkuṭeśvara

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A small shrine with an oval, egg-like liṅga; devotees offer flowers; above, a symbolic broken cycle (saṃsāra-cakra) or a fading womb-like motif, indicating cessation of rebirth.

Characters & Entities

• Kukkuṭeśvara
• Liṅga
• Garbha (womb/rebirth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion to Śiva in Kāśī is celebrated as directly liberating—cutting the cycle of birth and rebirth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kukkuṭeśvara liṅga, distinguished by an egg-like (kukkuṭāṇḍa) form within Kāśī’s sacred topography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bhakti (devotional reverence/service) toward the Kukkuṭeśvara liṅga is the emphasized practice.