Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

प्रभासक्षेत्रयात्रायाः पुण्यं प्राप्नोति कोटिकृत् । उज्जयिन्या महाकालः स्वयमत्रागतो विभुः

Transliteration

prabhāsakṣetrayātrāyāḥ puṇyaṃ prāpnoti koṭikṛt | ujjayinyā mahākālaḥ svayamatrāgato vibhuḥ

Translation

于此行朝圣之旅，可得功德增至一亿倍，等同无数次前往普拉婆娑（Prabhāsa）之行。遍一切处之主大时（Mahākāla）亲自自邬阇因尼（Ujjayinī）而来。

Word by Word

• प्रभास-क्षेत्र-यात्रायाः: of the pilgrimage to the Prabhāsa sacred field
• प्रभास-क्षेत्र-यात्रायाः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + यात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (प्रभासक्षेत्रस्य यात्रा)

• पुण्यम्: merit
• पुण्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• प्राप्नोति: attains
• प्राप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कोटिकृत्: one who makes (it) a crore-fold / a crore-doer
• कोटिकृत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + कृ (धातु) → कृत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कृदन्तः—कृत्-प्रत्ययान्त (कर्तरि), समासः—तत्पुरुषः (कोटिं करोति इति)

• उज्जयिन्याः: of Ujjayinī
• उज्जयिन्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उज्जयिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• महाकालः: Mahākāla
• महाकालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाकाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• स्वयम्: himself
• स्वयम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/निपात (emphatic adverb)

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• आगतः: has come
• आगतः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + गम् (धातु) → आगत (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्तः—क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (अस्ति इति अध्याहारः)

• विभुः: the Lord, the all-pervading one
• विभुः: Karta (Apposition to subject/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahākāla (Kāśī-liṅga associated with Ujjayinī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Kāśī shrine where Mahākāla is proclaimed to have ‘come’ from Ujjayinī; pilgrims arrive with waterpots and offerings; distant Prabhāsa is evoked symbolically (sea-shells, conch, coastal motifs) while Kāśī’s ghāṭas and lamps frame the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Ujjayinī
• Mahākāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī magnifies pilgrimage merit, and Śiva’s presence as Mahākāla makes the place supremely sanctifying.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is praised as granting merit surpassing even Prabhāsa, with Mahākāla present here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pilgrimage (yātrā) to the sacred place is the stated practice for gaining multiplied merit.