Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

ज्ञात्वा प्रभावमतुलं मणिकर्णिकायां यः पुद्गलं त्यजति चाशुचिपूयगंधि । स्वात्मावबोधमहसा सहसा मिलित्वा कल्पांतरेष्वपि स नैव पृथक्त्वमेति

Transliteration

jñātvā prabhāvamatulaṃ maṇikarṇikāyāṃ yaḥ pudgalaṃ tyajati cāśucipūyagaṃdhi | svātmāvabodhamahasā sahasā militvā kalpāṃtareṣvapi sa naiva pṛthaktvameti

Translation

Biết rõ uy lực vô song của Maṇikarṇikā, ai xả bỏ khối thân này—ô uế, hôi mùi mủ—liền tức khắc hòa nhập vào quang huy của tự chứng ngộ (Atman); và dẫu qua những kiếp (kalpa) khác, người ấy cũng không bao giờ rơi vào chia lìa nữa.

Word by Word

• jñātvā: having known
• jñātvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having known)

• prabhāvam: power, efficacy
• prabhāvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• atulam: incomparable
• atulam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: atula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषण (of prabhāvam)

• maṇikarṇikāyām: at Maṇikarṇikā
• maṇikarṇikāyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇikarṇikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम

• pudgalam: the body/person
• pudgalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pudgala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• tyajati: abandons
• tyajati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

• āśuci-pūya-gandhi: foul-smelling with impurity and pus
• āśuci-pūya-gandhi: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āśuci (प्रातिपदिक) + pūya (प्रातिपदिक) + gandhin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (अशुचि-पूयस्य गन्धः यस्य) विशेषण (of pudgalam)

• svātma-avabodha-mahasā: by the radiance of self-realization
• svātma-avabodha-mahasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक) + avabodha (प्रातिपदिक) + mahas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (स्वात्मनः अवबोधस्य महसा = by the radiance of self-realization)

• sahasā: suddenly, at once
• sahasā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: suddenly/at once)

• militvā: having merged
• militvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mil (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having united/merged)

• kalpa-anta-reṣu: in the intervals between kalpas
• kalpa-anta-reṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (कल्पानाम् अन्तरेषु = in the intervals between aeons)

• api: even, also
• api: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• pṛthaktvam: separateness
• pṛthaktvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛthaktva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• eti: goes to, attains
• eti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: i (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda instructing Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mumukṣu-oriented audience within Kāśī-māhātmya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative yogin at Maṇikarṇikā gazes at the pyres, perceiving the body’s impermanence; a radiant inner light (ātma-bodha-mahas) envelops him as his individuality dissolves into a vast, serene luminosity symbolizing non-separateness beyond kalpas.

Characters & Entities

• Maṇikarṇikā
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• kalpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Maṇikarṇikā in Kāśī is praised as a supreme liberating tīrtha: relinquishing the body there leads to immediate union with Self-realization and freedom from recurring separateness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Maṇikarṇikā Tīrtha in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite (snāna, dāna, japa) is prescribed in this verse; it emphasizes the salvific greatness (māhātmya) of casting off the body at Maṇikarṇikā with knowledge of its power.