Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

मुनेऽन्यच्च महालिंगं करुणेश्वरसंज्ञितम् । मोक्षद्वार समीपे तु मोक्षद्वारेश्वराग्रतः

Transliteration

mune'nyacca mahāliṃgaṃ karuṇeśvarasaṃjñitam | mokṣadvāra samīpe tu mokṣadvāreśvarāgrataḥ

Translation

اے مُنی! ایک اور عظیم لِنگ ہے جو ‘کرُنےشور’ کے نام سے معروف ہے۔ وہ موکش دوار (نجات کا دروازہ) کے قریب، موکش دواریشور کے عین سامنے قائم ہے۔

Word by Word

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• anyat: another
• anyat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन — Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular (qualifying 'liṅgam')

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunctive/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• mahāliṅgam: the great liṅga
• mahāliṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• karuṇeśvara-saṃjñitam: called ‘Karuṇeśvara’
• karuṇeśvara-saṃjñitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: karuṇeśvara + saṃjñita (कृदन्त; √jñā (धा.) + सम् + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative, Singular; ‘करुणेश्वर’ इति संज्ञा यस्य — ‘named Karuṇeśvara’

• mokṣadvāra: (the place called) Mokṣadvāra
• mokṣadvāra: Samāsa-pada (Name/नामपद)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mokṣa + dvāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषसमास; प्रातिपदिकरूपेण — ‘मोक्षस्य द्वारम्’ (name: Mokṣadvāra)

• samīpe: near
• samīpe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन — Neuter, Locative, Singular

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक (particle: ‘but/indeed’)

• mokṣadvāreśvara-agrataḥ: in front of Mokṣadvāreśvara
• mokṣadvāreśvara-agrataḥ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mokṣadvāra + īśvara + agrataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय ‘अग्रतः’ (in front of) + षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषसमास: ‘मोक्षद्वारेश्वरस्य अग्रतः’

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Karuṇeśvara (Liṅga) near Mokṣadvāra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni (sage) addressed as ‘mune’

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrow Kāśī lane opens to a small shrine: Karuṇeśvara-liṅga aligned directly before Mokṣadvāreśvara, with a symbolic archway labeled ‘Mokṣadvāra’; pilgrims pause at the threshold with folded hands.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Mokṣadvāra
• Mokṣadvāreśvara
• Karuṇeśvara (Śiva-liṅga)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is mapped as a sacred landscape where specific Śiva-liṅgas embody liberation; knowing their locations is part of pilgrimage-dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Karuṇeśvara Liṅga situated near Mokṣadvāra, facing Mokṣadvāreśvara in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; the verse primarily gives the sthāna (location) of the Karuṇeśvara Liṅga.