Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

निर्मलीकृत्य तच्चेतो रत्नं दत्त्वा पिनाकिने । प्रपपौ कणधूमौघं सहस्रं शरदां कविः

Transliteration

nirmalīkṛtya tacceto ratnaṃ dattvā pinākine | prapapau kaṇadhūmaughaṃ sahasraṃ śaradāṃ kaviḥ

Translation

चित्त निर्मळ करून त्या कवी-ऋषींनी पिनाकधारी शिवाला एक रत्न अर्पण केले. मग प्रभूच्या कृपेसाठी धूळ-धुराच्या प्रचंड प्रवाहाचे सहस्र शरद्‌ऋतूंपर्यंत त्यांनी तपस्वी सहन केले.

Word by Word

• निर्मलीकृत्य: having purified
• निर्मलीकृत्य: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier of main action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: निर्मलीकृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), धातु: निर्मलीकृ (to purify/clarify)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (pronoun-adjective)

• चेतः: mind
• चेतः: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• रत्नम्: a jewel
• रत्नम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• दत्त्वा: having given
• दत्त्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier of main action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), धातु: दा (to give)

• पिनाकिने: to Pinākin (Śiva)
• पिनाकिने: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिनाकिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• प्रपपौ: drank (repeatedly)/imbibed
• प्रपपौ: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-पा (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कणधूमौघम्: a mass/stream of particle-smoke
• कणधूमौघम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कण (प्रातिपदिक) + धूम (प्रातिपदिक) + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कणानां धूमः → कणधूमः; कणधूमस्य ओघः → कणधूमौघः)

• सहस्रम्: a thousand
• सहस्रम्: Karma (Measure/extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; परिमाणवाचक (measure)

• शरदाम्: of years/autumns
• शरदाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• कविः: the sage/poet
• कविः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कवि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual purāṇic narration within Kāśīkhaṇḍa; often Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī (general kṣetra context)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Bhārgava sage, mind composed, offers a gleaming jewel before a Śiva-liṅga; around him a dramatic storm of smoke and dust swirls as he endures long austerity.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Pinākin
• Bhārgava (implied in surrounding verses)
• Kāśī (section context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purified intention (inner clarity) joined with dāna and sustained tapas becomes a direct means to obtain Śiva’s grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework, which glorifies Kāśī/Vārāṇasī as the supreme Śaiva sacred landscape, even when a specific tīrtha name is not stated in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ratna-dāna—offering a precious gem to Śiva—together with the ideal of rigorous penance (tapas) performed with a purified mind.