Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

ततस्ते वानराः सर्वे राक्षसाश्च विशेषतः । लिंगानि स्थापयामासुः स्वानिस्वानि पृथक्पृथक्

Transliteration

tataste vānarāḥ sarve rākṣasāśca viśeṣataḥ | liṃgāni sthāpayāmāsuḥ svānisvāni pṛthakpṛthak

Translation

ثم إن جميع أولئك الفانارا—وخاصةً الراكشاسا—أقاموا، كلٌّ على حدة، لِينغاتهم الخاصة.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: then/thereafter)

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• vānarāḥ: monkeys (Vānaras)
• vānarāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vānara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• rākṣasāḥ: Rākṣasas
• rākṣasāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• viśeṣataḥ: especially
• viśeṣataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: रीत्यर्थक-अव्यय (adverb: especially/particularly)

• liṅgāni: liṅgas
• liṅgāni: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• sthāpayāmāsuḥ: they established
• sthāpayāmāsuḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था); causative (णिच्) sthāpaya + periphrastic perfect plural
• Form: लिट् (Perfect; परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; णिजन्त

• svāni: their own
• svāni: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (own)

• svāni: (each) his own
• svāni: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोगः (each one’s own)

• pṛthak: separately
• pṛthak: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pṛthak (अव्यय)
• Form: भेदवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: separately)

• pṛthak: each by each
• pṛthak: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pṛthak (अव्यय)
• Form: भेदवाचक-अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति (emphatic: each separately)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Clustered-liṅga tīrtha at Rāmeśvara–Lakṣmaṇeśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vānaras and Rākṣasas, each in their own group, carry stones and ritual vessels, setting up separate liṅgas across the sacred ground—rows of small shrines, smoke from offerings, a sense of bustling sacred activity.

Characters & Entities

• Vānaras
• Rākṣasas
• Śiva-liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A sacred place is magnified when many devotees consecrate it through individual acts of worship and foundation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same tīrtha-kṣetra becomes a liṅga-rich pilgrimage zone through multiple separate installations.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Individual liṅga-pratiṣṭhā performed separately by different groups.