Skanda Purāṇa · Kāśī Khaṇḍa, Ch. 73
Three fourteen-linga pilgrimage circuits — Prathama, Dwitiya and Tritiya Chaturdashayatana — said to lead, step by step, toward Moksha.
Overview
The Kashi Khand — the vast Varanasi section of the Skanda Purana — names hundreds of Shiva lingas scattered across the sacred city, but singles out forty-two as its Mukti-lingas, the principal forms whose worship is said to lead most directly toward liberation. Tradition groups these forty-two into three pilgrimage circuits of fourteen each, called Chaturdashayatana — “the abode of fourteen” — walked in sequence as a single, unified yatra.
The first fourteen are introduced together, and in unusual detail, in the text’s seventy-third chapter, where Shiva himself names them to Parvati and Kartikeya. The verse below opens that account.
एतानि हि महालिङ्गान्यत्र पूज्यानि यत्नतः,
नामश्रवणमात्रेण स्युर्नाराशकराणि हि。
अधिष्ठातृणि चैतस्मिन् क्षेत्रे पुण्यतमे प्रिये,
आराधितानि मोक्षं वा जदते देहधारिणाम्।
Rendered loosely: in this most sacred of groves, these fourteen great lingas deserve especially diligent worship — even the mere hearing of their names is held to dissolve sin, for they preside over this holy field, and devoted worship of them is said to grant liberation to the embodied soul itself.
Kashi Khand, Chapter 73
Photo © Wikimedia Commons contributor · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
First Circuit · Prathama Chaturdashayatana
Named together, and in unusual detail, in Kashi Khand’s seventy-third chapter — Shiva’s own words to Parvati and Kartikeya. This is the oldest and best-attested of the three circuits, and the one most pilgrims walk first.
Legend. A self-manifested (svayambhu) linga said to hold, in physical form, the five subtle parts of the sound “Om” — akara, ukara, makara, nada and bindu.
Significance. Beholding this linga is said to equal the merit of chanting the Rudra mantra a hundred thousand times; remembering one’s ancestors here is held to grant them Brahmapada, the highest abode.
Legend. Said to have arisen from a flash of light released by Shiva’s third eye — a symbol of the power of inner vision.
Significance. Darshan here is believed to awaken spiritual insight and dissolve ignorance.
Legend. Held to be the very first form in which Mahadev appeared in Kashi, when Vishnu undertook penance here at the dawn of creation.
Significance. Regarded as one of the oldest lingas in the city; worship here is said to end life’s afflictions.
Legend. After slaying Gajasura, a demon descended from Mahishasura who tormented the sages, Shiva is said to have worn the demon’s elephant hide as a garment.
Significance. Worship here is believed to free a devotee from fear, enmity and untimely death.
Legend. Established, by tradition, either by the deity of gems and wealth or by King Ratnasena, to propitiate Shiva.
Significance. Darshan and worship are said to dispel poverty and bring prosperity.
Legend. The Moon, wasting under a curse from King Daksha, is said to have performed intense penance here; Shiva relented and placed the moon upon his own forehead.
Significance. Worship on Mondays or the full moon (Purnima) is held to bring mental peace and ease lunar afflictions (Chandra Dosha).
Legend. For devotees unable to travel to Kedarnath in the Himalayas, Shiva is said to have manifested here in the southern part of Kashi.
Significance. Worship at Kedar Ghat is held to carry the same merit as a pilgrimage to the Kedarnath Jyotirlinga.
Legend. Yamaraja, lord of Dharma, is said to have established and worshipped this linga to gain the authority to judge every being’s deeds.
Significance. Its devotees are said to be spared the reckoning of Yama and the torments of hell.
Legend. Worshipped, by tradition, by gods and sages seeking to master the self and attain supreme courage.
Significance. Said to instil inner strength, courage and spiritual fortitude in its devotees.
Legend. After Shiva reduced Kamadeva, god of love, to ashes, and his wife Rati grieved, Shiva is said to have granted that Kamadeva be restored here in bodiless (Ananga) form.
Significance. Worship is believed to fulfil righteous desires and bring harmony to family life.
Legend. Installed, by tradition, by Vishvakarma, celestial architect of the gods, seeking blessings for the building and protection of Kashi itself.
Significance. Held to be especially auspicious for artisans, builders and those in craft or industry.
Legend. Said to have been established by Shiva after Parvati’s earring fell into the Chakrapushkarini tank, giving the site its name.
Significance. Darshan at Manikarnika Ghat is believed to free a devotee from the cycle of birth and death.
Legend. Shiva is said to have vowed never to abandon this ground, even at the dissolution of the universe — hence “Avimukta,” the never-forsaken.
Significance. Standing beside the main sanctum, this site is traditionally associated with the Tarak Mantra given to the dying in Kashi.
Legend. The principal Jyotirlinga of Kashi, sovereign over the entire sacred city.
Significance. The culmination of the fourteen-linga circuit: darshan here is said to uproot the three kinds of suffering — physical, divine and material — at their root, and grant liberation.
Second Circuit · Dwitiya Chaturdashayatana
Gathered from across the Kashi Khand’s middle chapters — ghat-side lingas tied to rivers, seasons and the daily rhythm of worship. Sourcing is more scattered here than in the first circuit; a few names are marked below as thinly documented.
Legend. Raised, by tradition, with the help of Giriraja’s own workers; Parvati is said to have asked that Shiva remain within it, and he agreed.
Significance. Bathing in the Varuna and worshipping here is said to grant Moksha; devotees are held to be cherished like the Goddess’s own children.
Legend. Marks the meeting of the Ganga and Varuna rivers, where Vishnu is said to have washed his feet on first arriving in Kashi — the spot known as Padodak Tirtha.
Significance. Worship here is believed to please Vishnu and bring prosperity.
Legend. Once regarded as the literal midpoint of sacred Kashi, from which the city’s other pilgrim circuits were traditionally measured.
Significance. Worship on Ashtami and Chaturdashi days is said to bring great happiness.
fewer sources survive One of the less-documented names among the forty-two; the epithet points to union with the celestial realm. It is counted among the potent lingas Shiva describes to Parvati, though a detailed narrative for this particular form is not widely preserved in accessible sources.
Legend. Associated with the legendary King Harishchandra, renowned for unwavering truthfulness, whose name is attached to Kashi’s second cremation ground.
Significance. Worship here is said to instil truthfulness in the devotee.
fewer sources survive Gabhasti means a ray of light. The name places this linga among the radiance-linked forms catalogued in the Kashi Khand’s later chapters, though its individual story is not widely preserved in popular sources.
Legend. Kashi Khand places this linga to the east of Adi Mahadev.
Significance. Worship is said to carry the merit of Godana — the traditional gift of a cow.
Legend. Named for the three daily junctures of prayer — Sandhya Vandan at morning, noon and evening.
Significance. Bathing at Trisandhi Tirtha and worshipping here is held to carry the merit of having studied the Vedas.
Legend. One of the many forms named in Kashi Khand’s long catalogue of the city’s lingas.
Significance. Sincere worship is said to free a devotee from sin and assure a place in heaven.
Legend. Described as standing northeast of Bhadreshvara.
Significance. Merely touching this linga is said to bring profound mental peace and cleanse sins accumulated over a long time.
Legend. Kashi Khand recommends darshan on the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Jyeshtha month (May–June).
Significance. Sin accumulated over years is said to vanish as darkness before sunrise; offerings made here for one’s ancestors are considered especially meritorious.
Legend. Shiva is said to have emerged from this linga to slay the demon Dundubhi, who had taken a tiger’s form to attack a devotee absorbed in worship.
Significance. Worship here is held to remove obstacles and bring success in one’s undertakings.
fewer sources survive The name suggests Shiva’s abiding presence (nivasa, “dwelling place”). It is among the more obscure of the forty-two, without a widely preserved individual legend in accessible sources.
Legend. Named for Shukracharya, preceptor of the demons, whom Shiva is said to have revived and blessed at this site.
Significance. A full year of devoted worship is said to bless the devotee with good children and lasting happiness.
Third Circuit · Tritiya Chaturdashayatana
The closing stretch of the pilgrimage, drawn largely from the same chapter 73 group of “fourteen potent lingas” that opens the whole list, plus a handful of forms named elsewhere in the text — ending, fittingly, at the Lord of Knowledge.
Legend. Installed, by tradition, by the sage Ved Vyasa, compiler of the Vedas, who is said never to have left Kashi again after establishing it.
Significance. Bathing in the Ghantakarna tank and taking darshan here is held to grant ultimate knowledge — and even the merit of dying in Kashi, wherever one’s death actually occurs.
Legend. The Shiva Purana tells how the demon Tarakasura, before his defeat by Kartikeya, begged Shiva’s forgiveness and was granted that his own name be forever joined to the Lord’s.
Significance. Worshipped in this age as Tarkeshwar Mahadev, with shrines near Manikarnika Ghat and the Vishwanath temple.
Legend. The first-named of the fourteen especially potent lingas Shiva describes to Parvati in Kashi Khand’s seventy-third chapter.
Significance. Tradition holds that even the dead may find life at its touch, and the living, freedom from the fear of rebirth.
fewer sources survive Named among the same group of fourteen potent lingas in Kashi Khand’s seventy-third chapter; the epithet Chandi marks Shiva’s fierce, world-protecting aspect. A fuller individual legend is not widely preserved in accessible sources.
fewer sources survive Karuna means compassion. The name marks this linga as an embodiment of Shiva’s merciful aspect among the forty-two, though a detailed individual legend is not widely preserved in accessible sources.
Legend. One of the lingas Shiva names among the powerful forms clustered near the Chakrapushkarini.
Significance. Kashi Khand promises that a devotee who worships here will always find Moksha — release from the cycle of rebirth.
Legend. Placed near the Chakrapushkarini/Manikarnika area; the surrounding locality still carries this linga’s name, Swarg Dwari.
Significance. Worship here is said to cleanse sin and assure heaven after death.
Legend. Kashi Khand tells of a devotee named Vriddha Kal who, after a pious former life, settled in Kashi and worshipped this linga so faithfully that it came to bear his name.
Significance. Worship is said to fulfil wishes and free one from disease and poverty; the nearby Kalodak well is held to cure ailments.
Legend. Counted among the many forms Nandi is said to have gathered into Kashi from Vrishabhadhwaja Tirtha.
Significance. Devotees hold that its worship brings lasting contentment.
fewer sources survive One of the fourteen potent lingas in Kashi Khand’s seventy-third-chapter group. Mahesha, “great lord,” is among Shiva’s most universal epithets, marking this form as an embodiment of his all-encompassing majesty rather than a site with its own separate narrative.
Legend. After performing ten Ashvamedha sacrifices with King Divodasa at what became Dashashwamedh Ghat, Brahma is said to have installed this linga and continued worshipping Shiva from beside it.
Significance. Its devotees are said to find a place in Brahmaloka.
fewer sources survive Langala means plough. The name is thought to carry agrarian imagery from within the Kashi Khand’s long catalogue of lingas, though its individual story is not widely preserved in accessible sources.
fewer sources survive Named for Nandi, Shiva’s bull and constant attendant. Tradition holds that this linga’s original site has long been lost to memory — the one member of the forty-two without a confirmed, continuously worshipped shrine today.
Legend. The last-named of the fourteen potent lingas in Kashi Khand’s seventy-third chapter, and so the final station of the entire forty-two-linga circuit.
Significance. Shiva promises that worshipping him here — or merely reciting the names of these fourteen lingas — grants supreme knowledge and, ultimately, Moksha.
Practice
In the Sacred City
Most of the forty-two shrines are small, single-room lingas tucked inside Kashi’s lanes, with no freely licensed photographs available online. Rather than use stock or paid imagery, this page includes only openly licensed photographs from Wikimedia Commons, credited below.
