Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

गंगाभस्यपि तिष्ठंति षष्टिकोटिमितानिहि । सिद्धलिंगानि तानीशे तिष्येऽदृश्यत्वमाययुः

Transliteration

gaṃgābhasyapi tiṣṭhaṃti ṣaṣṭikoṭimitānihi | siddhaliṃgāni tānīśe tiṣye'dṛśyatvamāyayuḥ

Translation

Am Ufer der Gaṅgā selbst stehen Liṅgas — wahrlich in der Zahl von sechzig Millionen. Jene vollendeten (siddha) Liṅgas, o Göttin, sind im Zeitalter Tiṣya (Kali) durch Māyā unsichtbar geworden.

Word by Word

• गंगाभस्य: of Gaṅgābha
• गंगाभस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गाभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रयोगानुसार), षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन (Genitive singular)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• तिष्ठन्ति: stand; remain
• तिष्ठन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• षष्टिकोटिमितानि: numbering sixty crores
• षष्टिकोटिमितानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षष्टि-कोटि-मित (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘षष्टिकोट्या मितानि’ = measured/numbering sixty crores

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• सिद्धलिंगानि: the accomplished (siddha) liṅgas
• सिद्धलिंगानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्ध-लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: ‘सिद्धानि लिङ्गानि’

• तानि: those
• तानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ईशे: in/at Īśa (Lord Śiva)
• ईशे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative singular)

• तिष्ये: in (the time of) Tiṣya
• तिष्ये: Adhikarana (Time/Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative singular)

• अदृश्यत्वम्: invisibility
• अदृश्यत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-दृश्य-त्व (प्रातिपदिक; समास/तद्धित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अदृश्यस्य भावः’ (त्व-प्रत्यय)

• आययुः: attained; came to
• आययुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लिट् लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘they attained/came to’

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā-taṭa (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī (Devī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Along the Gaṅgā ghāṭs of Kāśī, countless liṅgas are implied—some visible, many hidden—while Śiva explains to Pārvatī that in Kali they have become unseen by māyā.

Characters & Entities

• Pārvatī
• Gaṅgā
• Siddha-liṅga
• Tiṣya (Kali Yuga)
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sanctity persists even when sacred forms become hidden in Kali Yuga; absence to the eye does not mean absence of power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā-bank in Kāśī (Gaṅgā-tīra) as a locus of innumerable siddha-liṅgas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it provides a yuga-based explanation for why many liṅgas are not visible.