Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

साक्षाल्लिंगार्चनं येन कृतमस्ति महात्मना । ज्ञानज्ञेयं ज्ञानगम्यं यद्यत्परममद्भुतम् । तत्कृतं रावणेनैव सर्वेषां दुरतिक्रमम्

Transliteration

sākṣālliṃgārcanaṃ yena kṛtamasti mahātmanā | jñānajñeyaṃ jñānagamyaṃ yadyatparamamadbhutam | tatkṛtaṃ rāvaṇenaiva sarveṣāṃ duratikramam

Translation

Jener Großgesinnte vollzog die unmittelbare Verehrung des Liṅga selbst. Was immer Wissen ist, was immer zu wissen ist, was immer durch Wissen erreicht wird—alles höchst Wunderbare—das vollbrachte Rāvaṇa allein, für alle anderen unerreichbar.

Word by Word

• sākṣāt: directly, in person
• sākṣāt: Sambandha/Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sākṣāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• liṅga-arcanaṃ: liṅga-worship
• liṅga-arcanaṃ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga + arcana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष — neuter nominative singular; 'worship of the liṅga'

• yena: by whom/whereby
• yena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन — instrumental singular; relative pronoun

• kṛtam: done, performed
• kṛtam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त; √kṛ कृ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) — neuter nominative singular; PPP used predicatively ('done')

• asti: is/exists
• asti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — present indicative 3rd person singular

• mahātmanā: by the great-souled one
• mahātmanā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; कर्मधारय — masculine instrumental singular; 'by the great-souled (one)'

• jñāna-jñeyam: knowable (through knowledge)
• jñāna-jñeyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna + jñeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष — neuter singular; 'that which is to be known by knowledge'

• jñāna-gamyam: attainable (by knowledge)
• jñāna-gamyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna + gamya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष — neuter singular; 'attainable through knowledge'

• yat: whatever
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक — neuter singular relative pronoun ('whatever')

• yat: whatever (all that)
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (emphatic repetition) — neuter singular

• paramam: supreme
• paramam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; विशेषण — neuter singular adjective

• adbhutam: wonder, marvel
• adbhutam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adbhuta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन — neuter singular; predicate/object in apposition

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; निर्देश (demonstrative) — neuter singular ('that')

• kṛtam: done
• kṛtam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त; √kṛ कृ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) — neuter singular; 'done' (elliptic predicate)

• rāvaṇena: by Rāvaṇa
• rāvaṇena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन — masculine instrumental singular

• eva: alone, indeed
• eva: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (restrictive particle)

• sarveṣām: of all (beings)
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचन — genitive plural

• duratikramam: unsurpassable, hard to cross
• duratikramam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur + atikrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष — neuter singular; 'hard to surpass'

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gokarṇa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Divine assembly and audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rāvaṇa, depicted as a powerful ascetic-king, performs immediate, intense worship before a radiant liṅga; the scene suggests that the liṅga embodies the summit of knowledge.

Characters & Entities

• Rāvaṇa
• Liṅga
• Śiva (implied through Liṅga worship)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Liṅga-worship is exalted as a direct means to profound attainment; yet greatness must mature into humility and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse glorifies Liṅga worship itself within the Kedārakhaṇḍa pilgrimage-theology, without naming a single shrine in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅgārcana (ritual worship of Śiva’s Liṅga) is explicitly mentioned.