Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

तस्य लिंगस्य माहात्म्यमाविर्भावं च सुंदरि । निशामयाभिधास्यामि महापातक नाशनम्

Transliteration

tasya liṃgasya māhātmyamāvirbhāvaṃ ca suṃdari | niśāmayābhidhāsyāmi mahāpātaka nāśanam

Translation

اے حسینہ، سنو؛ میں اُس لِنگ کی عظمت اور اُس کے ظہور کا بیان کروں گا—ایسی جلالت جو بڑے سے بڑے پاپ (مہاپاتک) کو بھی مٹا دیتی ہے۔

Word by Word

• तस्य: of that
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• लिङ्गस्य: of the liṅga
• लिङ्गस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• माहात्म्यम्: greatness/glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• आविर्भावम्: manifestation/appearance
• आविर्भावम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आविर्भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक conjunction)

• सुन्दरि: O beautiful lady
• सुन्दरि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुन्दरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• निशामय: listen/hear
• निशामय: Kriya (Imperative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + शम् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन

• अभिधास्यामि: I shall tell/declare
• अभिधास्यामि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि + धा (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• महापातकनाशनम्: destroying great sins
• महापातकनाशनम्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महापातक + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (महापातकस्य नाशनम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (qualifying माहात्म्यम्/आविर्भावम् as “destroyer of great sins”)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: That Kāśī Liṅga (mahāpātaka-nāśana)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ‘Sundarī’ (female addressee)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A storyteller-sage addresses a ‘sundarī’ listener in a Kāśī courtyard near a shrine; behind them the liṅga glows subtly, indicating imminent narration of its manifestation; listeners sit in attentive semicircle.

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga
• Māhātmya
• Āvirbhāva
• Mahāpātaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hearing the māhātmya of a sacred Liṅga is itself framed as a dharmic act connected with purification from grave sins.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A particular Liṅga in Kāśī/Ānandavana is being introduced; its detailed identity is to follow in the subsequent narration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa (attentive listening) to the māhātmya is explicitly urged; the verse also signals sin-destruction as the fruit.