Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

तव नामानुरक्ता वाग्यस्य पुंसो जगत्पते । अप्यद्रिकूटतुलितं नैनस्तमनुबाधते

Transliteration

tava nāmānuraktā vāgyasya puṃso jagatpate | apyadrikūṭatulitaṃ nainastamanubādhate

Translation

హే జగత్పతే! ఎవరి వాక్కు నీ నామానురక్తమై ఉంటుందో, అతనిని పర్వతశిఖరమంత పాపరాశి కూడా బాధించదు।

Word by Word

• तव: of you/your
• तव: Sambandha (Possessor/Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular), सर्वनाम (Pronoun)

• नाम: name
• नाम: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• अनुरक्ता: attached/devoted
• अनुरक्ता: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनु-रञ्ज् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (Past participle/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• वाक्: speech/utterance
• वाक्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाच् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• यस्य: of whom/whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular), सर्वनाम (Relative pronoun)

• पुंसः: of a man/person
• पुंसः: Sambandha (Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुम्स्/पुंस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• जगत्पते: O Lord of the world
• जगत्पते: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (Genitive Tatpurusha: 'lord of the world'), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (Particle), अर्थः ‘even/also’

• अद्रिकूटतुलितम्: weighed/equal (to a mountain peak)
• अद्रिकूटतुलितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अद्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + कूट (प्रातिपदिक) + तुलित (तुल् धातु + क्त)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुष (Determinative: 'equal to a mountain-peak'), क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• न: not
• न: Avyaya (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (Negation particle)

• एनः: sin
• एनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular), सर्वनाम (Pronoun)

• अनुबाधते: afflicts/torments
• अनुबाधते: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु-बाध् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद (Ātmanepada)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī / Viśveśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame) / or interlocutors within Kāśī narrative

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee in Kāśī, hands folded, chanting Śiva’s name; behind him a dark mountain-like heap symbolizing sin dissolves into ash as a gentle Śiva-light radiates from a liṅga or from Viśveśvara’s presence.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Śiva-nāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion expressed through constant remembrance and utterance of Śiva’s Name nullifies even vast accumulations of sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader context is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), where Śiva’s presence and Name are repeatedly praised as supremely liberating.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No external rite is specified; the practice implied is nāma-japa/nāma-kīrtana—keeping one’s speech devoted to Śiva’s Name.