Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

स्मरणादस्य लिंगस्य पापं जन्मद्वयार्जितम् । अवश्यं नश्यति क्षिप्रं मम वाक्यान्न संशयः

Transliteration

smaraṇādasya liṃgasya pāpaṃ janmadvayārjitam | avaśyaṃ naśyati kṣipraṃ mama vākyānna saṃśayaḥ

Translation

या लिंगाचे केवळ स्मरण केल्याने दोन जन्मांत साचलेले पापही निःसंशय लवकर नष्ट होते—हे माझे वचन आहे, यात शंका नाही।

Word by Word

• स्मरणात्: from (the act of) remembering
• स्मरणात्: Apadana (Source/Cause/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेतौ/कारणे (cause)

• अस्य: of this
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• लिङ्गस्य: of the liṅga
• लिङ्गस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; कर्मपद-प्राय (object of ‘naśyati’)

• जन्मद्वयार्जितम्: accumulated over two births
• जन्मद्वयार्जितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन्म-द्वय-अर्जित (प्रातिपदिक; जन्म + द्वय + अर्जित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) ‘अर्जित’—‘earned/accumulated’; विशेषणम् ‘पापम्’

• अवश्यम्: certainly
• अवश्यम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अवश्यम् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• नश्यति: perishes/is destroyed
• नश्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• क्षिप्रम्: quickly
• क्षिप्रम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्षिप्रम् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• वाक्यात्: from (my) statement/words
• वाक्यात्: Apadana (Source/Reason/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; ‘वाक्यात्’ (from the statement)

• न: not/no
• न: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (as Lord of Kāśī/Viśveśvara), as inferred from the first-person assertion “mama vākyāt” within Kāśīkhaṇḍa context

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī—praised Liṅga of the adhyāya (within Viśveśvara-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devas (‘surāḥ’ addressed explicitly in nearby verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee seated in quiet contemplation, mentally visualizing a radiant liṅga in Kāśī; the liṅga emits a soft halo while the Gaṅgā and ghāṭas appear as a sanctifying backdrop, emphasizing ‘smaraṇa’ as inner pilgrimage.

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga
• Śiva
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even simple devotional remembrance (smaraṇa) of the sacred Liṅga in Kāśī is portrayed as powerful enough to destroy deep-rooted karmic sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is implied through the Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting, praising a particular sacred Liṅga associated with the city’s Śaiva greatness.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Smaraṇa—mental recollection/remembering of the Liṅga—presented as an efficacious spiritual practice.