Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

ज्योतिः सिद्धवटे ज्योतिस्ते पश्यंतीह ये द्विजाः । अथवाश्रीमहाकालद्रष्टारः पुण्यराशयः

Transliteration

jyotiḥ siddhavaṭe jyotiste paśyaṃtīha ye dvijāḥ | athavāśrīmahākāladraṣṭāraḥ puṇyarāśayaḥ

Translation

சித்தவட்டத்தில் தெய்வ ஒளி உள்ளது; இங்கு அந்த ஒளியை தரிசிக்கும் இருபிறப்பினர்—அல்லது ஸ்ரீமகாகாலனை தரிசிப்போர்—புண்ணியக் குவியலாகிறார்கள்.

Word by Word

• ज्योतिः: light
• ज्योतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्योतिस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• सिद्धवटे: at Siddhavaṭa
• सिद्धवटे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्ध-वट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सिद्धानां वटः)

• ज्योतिः: light
• ज्योतिः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्योतिस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• पश्यन्ति: see
• पश्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (adverb of place)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• द्विजाः: twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• अथवा: or else
• अथवा: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथवा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive particle: or/alternatively)

• श्रीमहाकालद्रष्टारः: beholders of Śrī Mahākāla
• श्रीमहाकालद्रष्टारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री- महाकाल- द्रष्टृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (श्रीमहाकालस्य द्रष्टारः)

• पुण्यराशयः: heaps of merit (very meritorious ones)
• पुण्यराशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य-राशि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (पुण्यः राशिः येषाम्/पुण्यराशयः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśī-khaṇḍa discourse, often Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Siddhavaṭa (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Siddhavaṭa, a radiant column of light appears near a sacred banyan; dvijas and pilgrims gaze with folded hands; Mahākāla’s presence is implied as a dark-stone liṅga with a luminous aura.

Characters & Entities

• Siddhavaṭa
• Mahākāla
• Dvitija (dvijāḥ)
• Jyotis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana (sacred vision) of the kṣetra’s jyoti and of Mahākāla is itself a powerful generator of puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Siddhavaṭa and the darśana of Śrī Mahākāla within the same sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None formal; emphasis is on seeing (darśana) the jyoti and Mahākāla.