Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

तत्पुण्यं नैमिषारण्यात्कोटिकोटिगुणं स्मृतम् । गोकर्णायतनादत्र स्वयमाविरभून्महत्

Transliteration

tatpuṇyaṃ naimiṣāraṇyātkoṭikoṭiguṇaṃ smṛtam | gokarṇāyatanādatra svayamāvirabhūnmahat

Translation

அதன் புண்ணியம் நைமிஷாரண்யப் புண்ணியத்தை விட கோடி கோடி மடங்கு உயர்ந்தது என்று ஸ்மிருதிகளில் கூறப்படுகிறது. இங்கே கோகர்ண ஆலயத்திலிருந்து மகாதேவன் தானே மகிமையுடன் வெளிப்பட்டான்.

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular); विशेषण-प्रयोगः (demonstrative)

• पुण्यम्: merit, holy merit
• पुण्यम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular)

• नैमिषारण्यात्: from the Naimiṣa forest
• नैमिषारण्यात्: Apādāna (Source/From)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैमिष-अरण्य (प्रातिपदिक; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (ablative singular); ‘नैमिषस्य अरण्यम्’

• कोटि-कोटि-गुणम्: crores upon crores of times (greater)
• कोटि-कोटि-गुणम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोटि + कोटि + गुण (प्रातिपदिक; द्विगु/तत्पुरुष-समासः)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular); ‘कोटिकोट्या गुणः’ = ten-million-times-fold

• स्मृतम्: is said/considered
• स्मृतम्: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘स्मृत’ = said/remembered

• गोकर्ण-आयतनात्: from the shrine of Gokarṇa
• गोकर्ण-आयतनात्: Apādāna (Source/From)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोकर्ण + आयतन (प्रातिपदिक; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (ablative singular); ‘गोकर्णस्य आयतनम्’

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• स्वयम्: of itself, spontaneously
• स्वयम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: स्वतन्त्र-क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (reflexive adverb: ‘by itself/oneself’)

• आविरभूत्: appeared, manifested
• आविरभूत्: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आविर् + भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘आविर्-भू’ = to manifest/appear

• महत्: great
• महत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular); विशेषण-प्रयोगः

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Brahmāvarta (Kāśī) / Gokarṇa-āyatana vicinity

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer sages/devotees (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim enters a dense, lamp-lit Kāśī lane; a small shrine marked ‘Gokarṇa’ glows as Śiva’s presence is felt as self-manifest, with subtle radiance emerging from the liṅga/garbhagṛha; sages recall Naimiṣa in the background as a distant forest contrast.

Characters & Entities

• Naimiṣāraṇya
• Gokarṇa Āyatana
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Devadeva/Śiva (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is exalted as a supreme merit-field where even famed forest tīrthas are surpassed, because divinity is self-manifest there.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Brahmāvarta’s merit in Kāśī and the Gokarṇa shrine (Gokarṇāyatana) as a locus of divine manifestation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new rite is added; the verse magnifies the resulting puṇya and grounds it in the deity’s svayaṃ-āvirbhāva (self-manifestation).