Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

तत्र तप्त्वा तपो घोरं लिंगं संस्थाप्य शांभवम् । पंचवर्षसहस्राणि स्थितः पाषाणनिश्चलः

Transliteration

tatra taptvā tapo ghoraṃ liṃgaṃ saṃsthāpya śāṃbhavam | paṃcavarṣasahasrāṇi sthitaḥ pāṣāṇaniścalaḥ

Translation

Dort vollzog er furchtbare Askese; und nachdem er einen Liṅga Śambhus errichtet hatte, verharrte er fünftausend Jahre, unbeweglich wie ein Fels.

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (locative adverb): ‘there’

• taptvā: having done austerity
• taptvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tap (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive): ‘having performed austerity/ having heated (oneself)’

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• ghoram: terrible, intense
• ghoram: Karma (Qualifier of object/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier) of tapaḥ

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

• saṃsthāpya: having installed
• saṃsthāpya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√sthā (धातु) [causative sense: स्थापयति]
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive): ‘having स्थापित/installed’

• śāṃbhavam: Śiva’s
• śāṃbhavam: Karma (Qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śāṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण of liṅgam (‘of Śambhu/Śiva’)

• paṃca-varṣa-sahasrāṇi: for five thousand years
• paṃca-varṣa-sahasrāṇi: Kāla-adhikarana (Duration/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃca (संख्या) + varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन; कालपरिमाण (duration) — ‘five-thousand years’ (पञ्चवर्षाणां सहस्राणि)

• sthitaḥ: remained
• sthitaḥ: Kriyā (Main predication with implied ‘āsīt’/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle used adjectivally), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘standing/remaining’

• pāṣāṇa-niścalaḥ: motionless like a stone
• pāṣāṇa-niścalaḥ: Karta (Qualifier of subject/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāṣāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + niścala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘पाषाण इव निश्चलः’ (motionless like a stone)

Speaker

Skanda (contextual, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In Kāśī, an ascetic establishes a Śaiva liṅga and performs terrifying austerities, standing unmoving like stone for five thousand years; seasons pass around him—sun, rain, and wind—while the liṅga radiates sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Śambhu)
• Vārāṇasī
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast tapas and devotion expressed through liṅga-pratiṣṭhā are shown to draw the Lord’s direct presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī/ Vārāṇasī as the field where intense tapas and Śaiva worship bear extraordinary fruit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-saṃsthāpana (establishing a Śaiva liṅga) is explicitly mentioned.