Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 120

Devanagari script

कोसौ मत्स्वामिनो नाम रत्नेशस्य महेशितुः । लिंगराजस्य गृह्णाति कर्मबंधनभेदिनः

Transliteration

kosau matsvāmino nāma ratneśasya maheśituḥ | liṃgarājasya gṛhṇāti karmabaṃdhanabhedinaḥ

Translation

แท้จริงแล้วผู้ใดกันที่รับนามแห่งพระผู้เป็นนายของข้าพเจ้า—รัตเนศ ผู้เป็นมหาอธิราช—ลิงคราช ผู้ทำลายพันธนาการแห่งกรรม?

Word by Word

• कः: who?
• कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• असौ: that (person)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मत्: my
• मत्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive) एकवचनार्थे अव्ययवत्-रूप (enclitic stem ‘mat-’ = ‘my’)

• स्वामिनः: of (my) lord/master
• स्वामिनः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वामिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• नाम: by name; namely
• नाम: Sambandha (Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय/निपात)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्न/उद्धरणार्थक (as for the name / namely)

• रत्नेशस्य: of Ratneśa/Ratneśa (Ratneśvara)
• रत्नेशस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रत्नेश (प्रातिपदिक; रत्न+ईश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-आधार (proper name)

• महेशितुः: of the great lord
• महेशितुः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेशितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘महेशितृ’ = great lord

• लिङ्गराजस्य: of Liṅgarāja
• लिङ्गराजस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + राज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (लिङ्गस्य राजा)

• गृह्णाति: takes, accepts
• गृह्णाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कर्मबंधन: bondage of action (karmic bondage)
• कर्मबंधन: Sambandha (Internal compound relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + बन्धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कर्मणः बन्धनम्)

• भेदिनः: of the breaker/destroyer
• भेदिनः: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भिद् (धातु) → भेदिन् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, णिनि/agent noun)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; ‘भेदिन्’ = breaker

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; exact speaker within dialogue not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ratneśvara / Liṅgarāja (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: In-story interlocutor/devotee (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee or narrator utters a rhetorical question in praise; Ratneśvara-liṅga appears as regal ‘Liṅgarāja’ with a crown-like arch, radiating authority that snaps chains symbolizing karma.

Characters & Entities

• Ratneśvara
• Maheśa (Śiva)
• Liṅgarāja

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva as Ratneśvara/Liṅgarāja is proclaimed as the liberator who cuts karmic fetters.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ratneśvara and the Liṅgarāja aspect within Kāśī’s sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is devotional identification and praise.