Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

तस्य संदर्शनं पुंसां जायते पुण्यहेतवे । दृष्टं गंगेश्वरं लिंगं येन काश्यां सुदुर्लभम्

Transliteration

tasya saṃdarśanaṃ puṃsāṃ jāyate puṇyahetave | dṛṣṭaṃ gaṃgeśvaraṃ liṃgaṃ yena kāśyāṃ sudurlabham

Translation

അതിന്റ ദർശനം മനുഷ്യർക്കു പുണ്യഹേതുവാകുന്നു. കാശിയിൽ അത്യന്തം ദുർലഭമായ ഗംഗേശ്വര ലിംഗം ആരാൽ ദർശിക്കപ്പെട്ടുവോ…

Word by Word

• तस्य: of that/of it
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• संदर्शनम्: the seeing/vision
• संदर्शनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम् + दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• पुंसाम्: of men/people
• पुंसाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुंस्/पुम्स् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• जायते: arises/occurs
• जायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• पुण्यहेतवे: for the cause of merit
• पुण्यहेतवे: Sampradana (Purpose/recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्यहेतु (प्रातिपदिक) = पुण्य + हेतु
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (पुण्यस्य हेतुः)

• दृष्टम्: seen
• दृष्टम्: Kriya (Predicative participle/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेष्य-भावे (predicate)

• गंगेश्वरम्: Gaṅgeśvara
• गंगेश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गंगेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक) = गंगा + ईश्वर
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• लिङ्गम्: the liṅga
• लिङ्गम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• येन: by which/through whom
• येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• सुदुर्लभम्: very rare
• सुदुर्लभम्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुदुर्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (लिङ्गम् इति)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgeśvara (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A close-up devotional moment: the pilgrim’s eyes meet the liṅga; the environment quiets; the 'cause of merit' is shown as a subtle radiance entering the heart, while the shrine remains modest and hard-won to reach.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgeśvara
• Kāśī
• Darśana
• Puṇya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana itself is a dharmic act: seeing a sanctified form in Kāśī becomes a direct generator of puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgeśvara liṅga in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new rite beyond emphasizing darśana as spiritually efficacious.