Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

सर्वलिंगार्चनात्पुण्यं यावज्जन्म यदर्ज्यते । सकृद्विश्वेशमभ्यर्च्य श्रद्धया तदवाप्यते

Transliteration

sarvaliṃgārcanātpuṇyaṃ yāvajjanma yadarjyate | sakṛdviśveśamabhyarcya śraddhayā tadavāpyate

Translation

บุญใดที่สั่งสมตลอดชีวิตจากการบูชาศิวลึงค์ทั้งปวง บุญนั้นย่อมบรรลุได้ด้วยการบูชาพระวิศเวศวรเพียงครั้งเดียวด้วยศรัทธา

Word by Word

• सर्वलिङ्गार्चनात्: from worship of all liṅgas
• सर्वलिङ्गार्चनात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व-लिङ्ग-अर्चन (प्रातिपदिक; अर्चन < √अर्च् (धातु))
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेषां लिङ्गानाम् अर्चनम्)

• पुण्यम्: merit
• पुण्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• यावत्-जन्म: for as long as one lives
• यावत्-जन्म: Adhikarana (Temporal locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत्-जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; कालवाचक-अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः

• यत्: whatever (that which)
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• अर्ज्यते: is earned
• अर्ज्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ज् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, कर्मणि, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सकृत्: once
• सकृत्: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सकृत् (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/आवृत्तिवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: once)

• विश्वेशम्: Viśveśa (Lord of the universe)
• विश्वेशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्व-ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (विश्वस्य ईशः)

• अभ्यर्च्य: having worshipped
• अभ्यर्च्य: Kriya (Prior action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-√अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्यय; पूर्वकालक्रिया

• श्रद्धया: with faith
• श्रद्धया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रद्धा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• तत्: that (merit)
• तत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अन्वयः—तत् (पुण्यम्)

• अवाप्यते: is obtained
• अवाप्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-√आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, कर्मणि (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viśveśvara (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-seeking audience (ṛṣis/householders)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a sanctum: the dark stone liṅga of Viśveśvara adorned with bilva and flowers; a devotee offers water and lamps once, with intense faith, while other distant liṅgas are symbolically shown as faint silhouettes dissolving into this single shrine.

Characters & Entities

• Viśveśvara
• Śiva-liṅga
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śraddhā-filled worship of Viśveśvara in Kāśī is presented as a concentrated form of all Śiva-worship merits.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Viśveśvara (Kāśī Viśvanātha) in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-arcana—worshipping Viśveśvara even once, with faith.