Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

दर्शनं सत्यलोकस्य तस्य वै शिवशर्मणः । चतुर्भुजाभिषेकश्च निर्वाणं शिवशर्मणः

Transliteration

darśanaṃ satyalokasya tasya vai śivaśarmaṇaḥ | caturbhujābhiṣekaśca nirvāṇaṃ śivaśarmaṇaḥ

Translation

ശിവശർമൻ എന്ന ആ ഭക്തന് സത്യലോകദർശനം ലഭിക്കുന്നു; ചതുര്ഭുജ ദിവ്യരൂപത്തിന്റെ അഭിഷേകവും ലഭിക്കുന്നു; അവസാനം ശിവശർമന് നിർവാണമോക്ഷം പ്രാപ്തമാകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• दर्शनम्: vision; sight; viewing
• दर्शनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक; √दृश् (धातु) + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भाववाचक-नाम (act of seeing)

• सत्यलोकस्य: of Satyaloka
• सत्यलोकस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्यलोक (प्रातिपदिक) = सत्य (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सत्यस्य लोकः)

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

• वै: indeed; surely
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphatic)

• शिवशर्मणः: of Śivaśarman
• शिवशर्मणः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिवशर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; नकारान्त-प्रातिपदिक (शर्मन्)

• चतुर्भुजाभिषेकः: the consecration of the four-armed (form)
• चतुर्भुजाभिषेकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्भुजाभिषेक (प्रातिपदिक) = चतुर्भुज (प्रातिपदिक) + अभिषेक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (चतुर्भुजस्य अभिषेकः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• निर्वाणम्: liberation; nirvāṇa
• निर्वाणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वाण (प्रातिपदिक; √वा (धातु) + निर्-उपसर्ग + घञ्/भाव)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भाववाचक

• शिवशर्मणः: of Śivaśarman
• शिवशर्मणः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिवशर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically addressing Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee Śivaśarman receives successive boons: vision of Satyaloka, a consecration that bestows a four-armed divine form, and finally dissolution into liberation under Śiva’s auspicious gaze.

Characters & Entities

• Satyaloka
• Śivaśarman

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī-māhātmya listening/recitation is portrayed as leading from divine vision to ultimate liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework, implying the overarching glory of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī/Avimukta) as the liberating sacred realm.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It alludes to abhiṣeka (consecration/anointing), presented as a divine bestowal rather than a detailed human-performed rite in this line.