Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

व्यर्थश्रमोऽसि लोकेश नांतो लिंगस्य विद्यते । चतुर्युगसहस्राणां कोटिरेका पितामह

Transliteration

vyarthaśramo'si lokeśa nāṃto liṃgasya vidyate | caturyugasahasrāṇāṃ koṭirekā pitāmaha

Translation

يا ربَّ العوالم، إن سعيَك باطلٌ؛ فاللِّينغا لا نهايةَ لها. وحتى بعد كُوطيٍ واحدٍ وألفِ دورةٍ من دوراتِ اليوغا الأربع، يا بيتامها، لا يُدرك حدُّها.

Word by Word

• व्यर्थश्रमः: fruitless effort
• व्यर्थश्रमः: Pradhāna-nāmapada (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘fruitless effort’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• असि: you are
• असि: Kriyā (Copula)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• लोकेश: O lord of the world
• लोकेश: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘lord of the world’); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• अन्तः: end/limit
• अन्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• लिङ्गस्य: of the liṅga
• लिङ्गस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• विद्यते: exists/is found
• विद्यते: Kriyā (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; भावे/सत्तायाम्: ‘exists/is found’

• चतुर्युगसहस्राणाम्: of thousands of four-yuga cycles
• चतुर्युगसहस्राणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + युग (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: चतुर्युग (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष ‘four-yuga’) + सहस्र (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘thousands of four-yugas’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• कोटिः: a crore
• कोटिः: Karta (Subject/implicit: ‘a crore…’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• एका: one/single
• एका: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier of ‘koṭiḥ’)

• पितामह: O grandsire (Brahmā)
• पितामह: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Ketakī flower (addressing Brahmā)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Anādi-Ananta Liṅga (doctrinal tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brahmā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The speaking flower admonishes Brahmā: even after unimaginably vast yuga-cycles, the liṅga’s end is not found; Brahmā appears paused, chastened, against the backdrop of the endless pillar.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Pitāmaha)
• Śiva (as the endless Liṅga)
• Ketakī flower

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Absolute (Śiva symbolized by the liṅga) is limitless; even cosmic time cannot measure the divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a specific tīrtha; it glorifies the liṅga as a universal symbol of Śiva’s boundlessness, supporting the mahātmya tone of Arbuda-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a theological statement about the endless liṅga.