Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

लिंगार्चनरता नित्यमनन्येंद्रियमानसाः । सदैव वारुणाग्नेय स्नानद्वय सुनिर्मलाः

Transliteration

liṃgārcanaratā nityamananyeṃdriyamānasāḥ | sadaiva vāruṇāgneya snānadvaya sunirmalāḥ

Translation

അവർ നിത്യം ലിംഗാർചനയിൽ രതർ; ഇന്ദ്രിയവും മനസ്സും അനന്യമായി ശിവനിൽ സ്ഥിരം. ജലസ്നാനവും അഗ്നിസ്നാനവും എന്ന ദ്വിസ്നാനത്താൽ അവർ എപ്പോഴും സുനിർമലർ.

Word by Word

• liṅga: liṅga (Śiva-emblem)
• liṅga: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (लिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासे पूर्वपद

• arcana: worship
• arcana: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arcana (अर्चन-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासे मध्यपद

• ratāḥ: devoted/engaged
• ratāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rata (रत-प्रातिपदिक; √ram+क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त-विशेषण, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘रत’ = devoted/engaged

• liṅga-arcana-ratāḥ: devoted to worship of the liṅga
• liṅga-arcana-ratāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: liṅga + arcana + rata
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘लिङ्गार्चने रताः’

• nityam: always
• nityam: Sambandha (Adverbial modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (नित्य-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• ananya: exclusive/undistracted
• ananya: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ananya (अनन्य-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रातिपदिक; समासे पूर्वपद; अर्थः ‘अन्य-रहित’

• indriya: senses
• indriya: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indriya (इन्द्रिय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासे मध्यपद

• mānasāḥ: mental/of mind
• mānasāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānasa (मानस-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘of mind/mental’

• ananya-indriya-mānasāḥ: with senses and mind exclusively fixed (undistracted)
• ananya-indriya-mānasāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ananya + indriya + mānasa
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘अनन्ये इन्द्रिये (च) मनसि (च) येषाम्’ (with senses and mind fixed exclusively)

• sadā: always
• sadā: Sambandha (Adverbial modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• vāruṇa: watery (Varuṇa-related)
• vāruṇa: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāruṇa (वारुण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रातिपदिक; समासे पूर्वपद; ‘water-related’

• āgneya: fiery (Agni-related)
• āgneya: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āgneya (आग्नेय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रातिपदिक; समासे पूर्वपद; ‘fire-related’

• snāna: bath
• snāna: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (स्नान-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासे मध्यपद

• dvaya: twofold/pair
• dvaya: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvaya (द्वय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; ‘pair/twofold’

• vāruṇa-āgneya-snāna-dvaya: the two baths (water- and fire-rite)
• vāruṇa-āgneya-snāna-dvaya: Karma (Object/Complement implied/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāruṇa + āgneya + snāna + dvaya
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (as a collective); तत्पुरुषः—‘वारुणं च आग्नेयं च स्नानद्वयम्’ (two baths: water and fire)

• su-nirmalāḥ: very pure
• su-nirmalāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + nirmala (सु + निर्मल-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘अतिशयेन निर्मलाः’

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ascetics perform liṅga-arcana: offering water, bilva leaves, and flowers; nearby a small sacred fire glows, suggesting the ‘āgneya snāna’—purification by fire/heat/ash; faces are absorbed and unwavering.

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga worship
• Pāśupata devotees
• Vāruṇa-snānā (water bath)
• Āgneya-snānā (fire bath)
• Kāśī (implied context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady devotion to the Liṅga, supported by disciplined purification, makes the mind single-pointed and fit for higher realization.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is implied as the prime setting for Liṅga-arcana and purificatory observances that sustain spiritual purity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Regular Liṅga worship and the ‘two baths’—vāruṇa (water cleansing) and āgneya (fire-related purification, e.g., heat/ritual fire austerity).