Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

प्राधान्येन वरारोहे पूर्वे स्वायंभुवेंऽतरे । कपिलायास्तटेदेवि लिंगानां षष्टिरुत्तमा

Transliteration

prādhānyena varārohe pūrve svāyaṃbhuveṃ'tare | kapilāyāstaṭedevi liṃgānāṃ ṣaṣṭiruttamā

Translation

“হে সুশ্ৰী নিতম্বিনী, পূৰ্বৰ স্বায়ম্ভুৱ যুগত, হে দেৱী, কপিলাৰ তটত প্ৰাধান্যৰে লিঙ্গসমূহৰ ভিতৰত ষাঠি উৎকৃষ্ট লিঙ্গ প্ৰসিদ্ধ।”

Word by Word

• prādhānyena: by predominance / chiefly
• prādhānyena: Karaṇa (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prādhānya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; हेतौ/प्रकारे (by way of predominance)

• varārohe: O fair-hipped one
• varārohe: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varārohā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; वर + आरोह (श्रेष्ठा आरोहिणी इति)

• pūrve: in the former (period)
• pūrve: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; विशेषण

• svāyaṃbhuve: in the Svāyaṃbhuva (Manvantara)
• svāyaṃbhuve: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svāyaṃbhuva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; मन्वन्तर-विशेषण

• antare: during/within
• antare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अन्तरे’ = within/during

• kapilāyāḥ: of Kapilā
• kapilāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• taṭe: on the bank
• taṭe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• liṅgānām: of the liṅgas
• liṅgānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ṣaṣṭiḥ: sixty
• ṣaṣṭiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• uttamā: excellent/supreme
• uttamā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with ṣaṣṭiḥ)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapilā-taṭa (sixty liṅgas)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A river named Kapilā with sixty liṅgas arranged in a sacred grove; a faint overlay of cosmic time—Svāyaṃbhuva Manvantara—shown as ancestral sages establishing shrines, while Śiva narrates to Pārvatī.

Characters & Entities

• Svāyaṃbhuva Manvantara
• Kapilā
• Devī
• Śiva-liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s glory is timeless—its sanctity is traced back to primordial eras, strengthening faith in the continuity of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapilā’s riverbank within Prabhāsa-kṣetra, celebrated for sixty outstanding liṅgas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse provides sacred-historical grounding for pilgrimage and liṅga-worship at Kapilā-taṭa.