Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

क्व द्वयक्षरं हरेर्नाम स्फुलिंगसदृशं ज्वलेत । महती पातकानां च राशिस्तूलोपमा क्व च

Transliteration

kva dvayakṣaraṃ harernāma sphuliṃgasadṛśaṃ jvaleta | mahatī pātakānāṃ ca rāśistūlopamā kva ca

Translation

ద్వయాక్షర హరినామం స్ఫులింగంలా జ్వలిస్తుంది; పాపాల మహారాశి మాత్రం పత్తి గుట్టులాంటిది—ఇద్దరికీ పోలిక ఎక్కడ? ఆ స్ఫులింగమే దానిని దహిస్తుంది।

Word by Word

• क्व: where/what comparison
• क्व: Sambandha (Interrogative/Context)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: “where?/how?”)

• द्वयक्षरम्: two-syllabled (name)
• द्वयक्षरम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (numeral compound) “two-syllabled”

• हरेः: of Hari
• हरेः: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन

• नाम: name
• नाम: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• स्फुलिङ्गसदृशम्: like a spark
• स्फुलिङ्गसदृशम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्फुलिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + सदृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (उपमान-सम्बन्ध) “spark-like”

• ज्वलेत: would blaze/burn
• ज्वलेत: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्वल् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• महती: great/huge
• महती: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पातकानाम्: of sins
• पातकानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• राशिः: heap/mass
• राशिः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राशि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तूलोपमा: like cotton
• तूलोपमा: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तूल (प्रातिपदिक) + उपमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (उपमान-सम्बन्ध) “cotton-like (as a comparison)”

• क्व: where
• क्व: Sambandha (Interrogative/Context)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Vārāṇasī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (traditional) / pilgrims as implied audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tiny spark leaps from a sacred lamp and instantly ignites a huge cotton mound labeled ‘pāpa-rāśi’; behind it stands a serene devotee in Kāśī with Gaṅgā and temple spires, chanting ‘Hari’.

Characters & Entities

• Hari-nāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a small utterance of Hari’s name has immense purifying power, capable of consuming vast sin like fire consuming cotton.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site; the verse is a nāma-māhātmya teaching within the broader Kāśī Khaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nāma-japa/utterance of Hari’s name as a purifying practice.