Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 5
सुत उवाच । व्यासेन कथितं सर्वमस्मिन्नर्थे शुकं प्रति । शुक उवाच । लिंगरूपी कथं शंभुर्निर्गुणः कथते त्वया । एतन्मे संशयं तात च्छेत्तुमर्हस्यशेषतः
suta uvāca | vyāsena kathitaṃ sarvamasminnarthe śukaṃ prati | śuka uvāca | liṃgarūpī kathaṃ śaṃbhurnirguṇaḥ kathate tvayā | etanme saṃśayaṃ tāta cchettumarhasyaśeṣataḥ
قال سوتا: في هذا الشأن شرح فياسا كلّ شيء لِشُوكا. وقال شُوكا: كيف تصف شَمبهو، وهو ذو هيئة اللِّينغا، بأنه نِرغونا، منزَّهٌ عن الصفات؟ يا أبتِ الحبيب، أزل شكي هذا إزالةً تامّة.
Sūta (frames), then Śuka questioning Vyāsa
Tirtha: Kedāra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sages in Sūta’s assembly (implied); Vyāsa (as listener to Śuka)
Scene: A three-tier narration: Sūta recounts Vyāsa’s teaching to Śuka; Śuka raises the doubt about liṅga-form and nirguṇa nature. Visualize a teaching circle with a liṅga present as focal symbol.
FAQs
It highlights a central Purāṇic theology: the Supreme may be approached through a sacred form (liṅga) while remaining beyond all limiting attributes (nirguṇa).
The Kedārakhaṇḍa setting supports Kedāra’s liṅga worship tradition, though this verse primarily establishes the teaching lineage and the philosophical question.
No direct prescription; it initiates a doctrinal clarification that undergirds liṅga-arcana and contemplative understanding.