Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

द्वादशं मणिकर्णीशमविमुक्तं त्रयोदशम् । चतुर्दशं महालिंगं मम विश्वेश्वराभिधम्

Transliteration

dvādaśaṃ maṇikarṇīśamavimuktaṃ trayodaśam | caturdaśaṃ mahāliṃgaṃ mama viśveśvarābhidham

Translation

Maṇikarṇīśa ialah yang kedua belas; Avimukta yang ketiga belas. Yang keempat belas ialah Mahāliṅga—milik-Ku sendiri—bernama Viśveśvara.

Word by Word

• द्वादशम्: the twelfth
• द्वादशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा (2/1), एकवचन; संख्याविशेषणम् (ordinal/number used as count)

• मणिकर्णीशम्: Maṇikarṇīśa (Lord of Maṇikarṇī)
• मणिकर्णीशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणिकर्णी + ईश (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मणिकर्ण्याः ईशः)

• अविमुक्तम्: Avimukta (the sacred place/name)
• अविमुक्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविमुक्त (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-भावः from √मुच् (धातु) with अवि- prefix, past passive participle sense)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; नामरूपेण प्रयुक्तम्

• त्रयोदशम्: the thirteenth
• त्रयोदशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रयोदश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा (2/1), एकवचन; संख्याविशेषणम्

• चतुर्दशम्: the fourteenth
• चतुर्दशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्दश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा (2/1), एकवचन; संख्याविशेषणम्

• महालिङ्गम्: the great Liṅga
• महालिङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महच्च तत् लिङ्गम्)

• मम: of me / my
• मम: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• विश्वेश्वराभिधम्: named ‘Viśveśvara’
• विश्वेश्वराभिधम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विश्व + ईश्वर + अभिध (प्रातिपदिकौ/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (विश्वेश्वरस्य अभिधा/नाम यस्य)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta with Maṇikarṇikā and Viśveśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī (addressed as priye, sundarī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotional map-like tableau of Kāśī: Maṇikarṇikā-ghāṭa with lamps and smoke, the Avimukta precinct, and the towering golden-spired Viśveśvara liṅga shrine as the culminating focus.

Characters & Entities

• Maṇikarṇīśa Liṅga
• Avimukta Liṅga
• Viśveśvara Liṅga
• Avimukta-kṣetra (Kāśī epithet)
• Maṇikarṇikā (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is ‘Avimukta’—never forsaken by Śiva—and culminates in Viśveśvara, the central great Liṅga embodying the city’s promise of liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī as Avimukta-kṣetra, especially the Viśveśvara (Viśvanātha) Mahāliṅga and Maṇikarṇī-related sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is commanded; the verse completes the canonical roster of liṅgas that devotees are to remember, visit, and worship.