Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

तत्र राक्षसजैर्मंत्रैः संति लिंगानि च प्रभो । प्रतिष्ठितानि तत्स्पर्शाद्दर्शनात्स्याज्जनक्षयः

Transliteration

tatra rākṣasajairmaṃtraiḥ saṃti liṃgāni ca prabho | pratiṣṭhitāni tatsparśāddarśanātsyājjanakṣayaḥ

Translation

O Herr, an jenem Ort gibt es Liṅgas, die mit Mantras der Rākṣasas eingesetzt wurden. Schon durch Berührung — ja selbst durch bloßes Ansehen — entstünde Verderben unter den Menschen.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: अधिकरण (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• राक्षसजैः: by/with demonic
• राक्षसजैः: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राक्षस + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (Plural); तत्पुरुषः (राक्षसैः जाताः/राक्षससम्बन्धिनः)

• मन्त्रैः: with mantras
• मन्त्रैः: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• सन्ति: are/exist
• सन्ति: क्रिया (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

• लिङ्गानि: liṅgas (emblems)
• लिङ्गानि: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• प्रभो: O lord
• प्रभो: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• प्रतिष्ठितानि: installed/established
• प्रतिष्ठितानि: विशेषण (Qualifier of लिङ्गानि)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रति + स्था (धातु) → प्रतिष्ठित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तत्स्पर्शात्: from their touch
• तत्स्पर्शात्: हेतु/अपादान (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् + स्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तस्य स्पर्शः)

• दर्शनात्: from (their) sight
• दर्शनात्: हेतु (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• स्यात्: would occur/be
• स्यात्: क्रिया (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• जनक्षयः: destruction of people
• जनक्षयः: कर्ता (Subject/Result)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन + क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जनानां क्षयः)

Speaker

Local devotees/attendants addressing Rudra (contextual; speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Prabhu/Deva (addressed as Lord)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cluster of dark, ominous liṅgas marked by rākṣasa-mantra sigils; pilgrims recoil; an aura of peril radiates so strongly that even sight is harmful.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Liṅga
• Rākṣasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred forms must be established in harmony with dharma; corrupted consecrations become sources of harm rather than upliftment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (Adhyāya 106); the snippet emphasizes the sanctity/protection of a local tīrtha zone rather than naming a pan-Indian site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A warning about the effects of contact (sparśa) and sight (darśana) of improperly installed liṅgas; it implies the need for corrective, dharmic remediation.