Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

इष्टं तेन महायज्ञैः सहस्रशतदक्षिणैः । पंचाक्षरी महाविद्या येनोक्ता मणिकर्णिका

Transliteration

iṣṭaṃ tena mahāyajñaiḥ sahasraśatadakṣiṇaiḥ | paṃcākṣarī mahāvidyā yenoktā maṇikarṇikā

Translation

Sa kanya, ang dakilang mga yajña ay naisagawa nang wasto, kalakip ang handog na daan at libo-libong dakṣiṇā; at ang limang-pantig na Dakilang Mantra—ang Maṇikarṇikā—ay kanyang nausal.

Word by Word

• इष्टम्: (he has) worshipped / performed sacrifice
• इष्टम्: Kriya (Result/state)
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘यज्ञः/यजनम्’ इत्यर्थे कर्मणि भावः

• तेन: by him / by that
• तेन: Karana/Hetu (Instrument/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; करण/हेतु

• महायज्ञैः: with great sacrifices
• महायज्ञैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महायज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक: महा + यज्ञ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; करण

• सहस्रशतदक्षिणैः: with (sacrifices) having thousands and hundreds as fees
• सहस्रशतदक्षिणैः: Karana (Instrument qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र-शत-दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक: सहस्र + शत + दक्षिणा)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; महायज्ञैः इति विशेषण; ‘सहस्रशतं दक्षिणा यस्य’ इत्यर्थे संख्यासमास-प्रयोगः

• पञ्चाक्षरी: the five-syllabled (mantra)
• पञ्चाक्षरी: Karta/Predicate nominative
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चाक्षरी (प्रातिपदिक: पञ्च + अक्षर)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेष्य: महाविद्या

• महाविद्या: the great sacred knowledge (mantra)
• महाविद्या: Karta/Predicate nominative
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाविद्या (प्रातिपदिक: महा + विद्या)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्तृ/विधेय

• येन: by which
• येन: Karana/Hetu (Instrument/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; करण/हेतु

• उक्ता: was spoken/declared
• उक्ता: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; महाविद्या इति विशेष्य; कर्मणि प्रयोगः

• मणिकर्णिका: Maṇikarṇikā
• मणिकर्णिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणिकर्णिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्ता/विधेय (उक्ता इत्यस्य कर्तृस्थाने)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue convention)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vīra (interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee utters ‘Maṇikarṇikā’ as a radiant five-syllable mantra; behind him appear symbolic Vedic altars, priests, and heaps of dākṣiṇā dissolving into the single luminous utterance.

Characters & Entities

• Maṇikarṇikā
• pañcākṣarī (five-syllable mantra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇic teaching elevates tīrtha-linked mantra and remembrance as equal to (or surpassing) elaborate sacrificial merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Maṇikarṇikā tīrtha of Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performance of mahāyajñas with dakṣiṇā, and utterance of the pañcākṣarī mahāvidyā associated here with Maṇikarṇikā.