Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

लिंगरूपी महादेवो येनेदं धार्यते जगत् । यस्य प्रसादादुत्पन्ना यूयं च ऋषयस्तथा

Transliteration

liṃgarūpī mahādevo yenedaṃ dhāryate jagat | yasya prasādādutpannā yūyaṃ ca ṛṣayastathā

Translation

Mahādeva in der Gestalt des Liṅga ist Er, durch den diese ganze Welt getragen wird. Durch seine Gnade seid auch ihr—o Weise, ihr ṛṣi—ins Dasein hervorgegangen.

Word by Word

• liṅgarūpī: having the form of the liṅga
• liṅgarūpī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारय/षष्ठी-सम्भाव्य: ‘लिङ्गरूपः’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (to mahādevaḥ)

• mahādevaḥ: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• mahādevaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘महान् देवः’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yena: by whom
• yena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• dhāryate: is sustained, is borne
• dhāryate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• jagat: the world
• jagat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• prasādāt: from (his) grace
• prasādāt: Apadana (Cause-source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prasāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• utpannāḥ: were born, arose
• utpannāḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ut + pad (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), भूतकालिक; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; (agreeing with yūyam, ṛṣayaḥ)

• yūyam: you (all)
• yūyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; conjunction

• ṛṣayaḥ: sages
• ṛṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• tathā: also, likewise
• tathā: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; ‘also/likewise’ (adverb/particle)

Speaker

Viṣṇu (affirming Śiva’s liṅga-form supremacy; inferred from immediate narrative flow)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra / Kedāreśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (explicitly addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant liṅga at Kedāra, mountains behind, the cosmos subtly emanating from it; sages and devas in reverent posture, hands folded, receiving the truth of grace-born existence.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• Liṅga
• Ṛṣis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All existence is sustained by Śiva as the Liṅga, and spiritual authority (even of sages) ultimately rests on divine grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedārakhaṇḍa frames this as part of Kedāra’s Śaiva greatness, linking sacred geography with Śiva’s cosmic sovereignty.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated; the verse establishes the theological basis for liṅga-worship and reverence.