Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 62

Devanagari script

एका भेकी मुने तत्र चरंती लिंग सन्निधौ । प्रदक्षिणं सदा कुर्यान्निर्माल्याक्षतभक्षिणी

Transliteration

ekā bhekī mune tatra caraṃtī liṃga sannidhau | pradakṣiṇaṃ sadā kuryānnirmālyākṣatabhakṣiṇī

Translation

ดูก่อนมุนี ณ ที่นั้นมีกบเพศเมียตัวหนึ่งเที่ยวไปในสำนักแห่งศิวลึงค์ นางเวียนประทักษิณาอยู่เสมอ แต่กลับกินนฤมาลยะและอักษตะ (เมล็ดข้าว)

Word by Word

• ekā: one (female)
• ekā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• bhekī: female frog
• bhekī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bheka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb of place)

• carantī: moving/walking
• carantī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: car (धातु) + śatṛ/śānac (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (Present active participle/शतृ), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; परस्मैपदी

• liṅga: of the liṅga (Śiva-linga)
• liṅga: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th) एकवचन (Singular) — (liṅgasya)

• sannidhau: in the presence
• sannidhau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sannidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• pradakṣiṇam: circumambulation
• pradakṣiṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb of time)

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपदी

• nirmālya-akṣata-bhakṣiṇī: eating the (Śiva’s) nirmālya and unbroken rice
• nirmālya-akṣata-bhakṣiṇī: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nirmālya (प्रातिपदिक) + akṣata (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakṣiṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (उपपद-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-सदृशः): ‘निर्माल्यं च अक्षतं च भक्षयति’ इति

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (liṅga-sannidhi within the kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: muni (sage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a Kāśī shrine-courtyard: a small female frog circles a dark stone liṅga on a damp floor scattered with flower-garlands and rice grains; lamps flicker; priests and pilgrims watch in wonder.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī-kṣetra
• Śiva-liṅga
• bhekī (frog)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even simple beings gain merit by staying near the Śiva-liṅga and performing pradakṣiṇā, yet improper consumption of sacred remnants is still a fault.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī-kṣetra (Vārāṇasī) and its Śiva-liṅgas, where circumambulation is praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pradakṣiṇā (clockwise circumambulation) of the liṅga is highlighted; nirmālya-eating is implicitly criticized.