Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

ततस्त्रिलोकी विख्यातं त्रिलोक्युद्धरणक्षमम् । तीर्थं श्रेष्ठतरं वीर यदाख्या मणिकर्णिका

Transliteration

tatastrilokī vikhyātaṃ trilokyuddharaṇakṣamam | tīrthaṃ śreṣṭhataraṃ vīra yadākhyā maṇikarṇikā

Translation

അതിനുശേഷം ത്രിലോകപ്രസിദ്ധവും ത്രിലോകോദ്ധരണശക്തിയുള്ളതുമായ പരമശ്രേഷ്ഠ തീർത്ഥം വരുന്നു—ഹേ വീരാ—അതിന്റെ നാമം മണികർണികാ.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Discourse/Sequence marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादान/क्रमवाचक (from there/then)

• त्रिलोकी: the three worlds
• त्रिलोकी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (त्रयः लोकाः यस्यां/या)

• विख्यातम्: well-known
• विख्यातम्: Visheshana (Adjectival to Karma/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विख्यात (प्रातिपदिक; वि+ख्या (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-कृदन्त; विधेय-विशेषणम् (तीर्थम्)

• त्रिलोक्युद्धरणक्षमम्: capable of delivering the three worlds
• त्रिलोक्युद्धरणक्षमम्: Visheshana (Adjectival to Karma/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि + लोक + उद्धरण + क्षम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (तीर्थम्); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (त्रिलोक्याः उद्धरणे क्षमम्)

• तीर्थम्: the sacred ford (tīrtha)
• तीर्थम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय/उद्देश्य-शब्दः

• श्रेष्ठतरम्: more excellent
• श्रेष्ठतरम्: Visheshana (Adjectival to Karta/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ + तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तुलनात्मक (comparative) विशेषणम् (तीर्थम्)

• वीर: O hero
• वीर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

• यत्: which
• यत्: Karta (Subject of implied clause/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• आख्या: (its) name is
• आख्या: Predicate nominative (Samānādhikaraṇa/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘name/appellation’

• मणिकर्णिका: Maṇikarṇikā
• मणिकर्णिका: Predicate nominative (Samānādhikaraṇa/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणि + कर्णिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम; तत्पुरुषः (मणेः कर्णिका)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Addressed as ‘vīra’ (hero)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic view of Maṇikarṇikā: stepped ghāṭa, sacred waters, and the sense of cosmic fame—three worlds subtly indicated (devas above, humans on ghāṭa, nāgas/ancestors below).

Characters & Entities

• Maṇikarṇikā
• Kāśī/Varanasi (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain sacred places are portrayed as universally salvific; Maṇikarṇikā is praised as a pinnacle of Kāśī’s liberating power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Maṇikarṇikā-tīrtha (Maṇikarṇikā) in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is stated in this verse; it chiefly declares the unrivaled status and saving capacity of Maṇikarṇikā.