Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

ततो बलाहको राजा सर्वदेवसमन्वितः । स्थापयामास तल्लिंगं सर्वदेवसमीपतः

Transliteration

tato balāhako rājā sarvadevasamanvitaḥ | sthāpayāmāsa talliṃgaṃ sarvadevasamīpataḥ

Translation

Daraufhin errichtete König Balāhaka, von allen Göttern begleitet, jenen heiligen Liṅga in der unmittelbaren Gegenwart und Nähe der gesamten Schar der Gottheiten.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘ततः’ = ‘thereafter/from that’

• balāhakaḥ: Balāhaka
• balāhakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: balāhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — proper name

• rājā: the king
• rājā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• sarva-deva-samanvitaḥ: accompanied by all the gods
• sarva-deva-samanvitaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (कृदन्त; सम्+अन्वि/इ √i?; past participle used adjectivally)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण — ‘सर्वदेवैः समन्वितः’ (instrumental sense)

• sthāpayāmāsa: installed / caused to be set up
• sthāpayāmāsa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धाातु) + णिच् (causative) + लिट् (परस्मैपद)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; णिजन्त (causative) — ‘caused to be established/installed’

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• liṅgam: liṅga (emblem)
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• sarva-deva-samīpataḥ: near all the gods
• sarva-deva-samīpataḥ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक) + samīpatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक) — ‘सर्वदेवानां समीपतः’ (ablatival/locative sense: ‘near’)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa continuing the account)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya (contextual kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: King Balāhaka, surrounded by a radiant circle of devas, installs a newly consecrated liṅga on a pedestal within a forest-kshetra; offerings, lamps, and sacred vessels are arranged as celestial witnesses hover above.

Characters & Entities

• Balāhaka
• Sarvadeva (all the gods)
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Installing a Śiva-liṅga with devotion—especially in a sanctified place—becomes a deity-attested act that radiates enduring merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya (the sacred forest-section) is being praised as a powerful setting for Liṅga-pratiṣṭhā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-pratiṣṭhā (formal installation/establishment of the Liṅga) in the presence of the gods.