Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

कस्मात्तत्पातितं लिंगं वालखिल्यैर्महात्मभिः । कस्मात्तत्राचलो जातो देवदेवो महेश्वरः

Transliteration

kasmāttatpātitaṃ liṃgaṃ vālakhilyairmahātmabhiḥ | kasmāttatrācalo jāto devadevo maheśvaraḥ

Translation

«Warum wurde jener Liṅga von den großherzigen Vālakhilyas zu Fall gebracht? Und warum wurde dort Maheśvara, der Gott der Götter, unbeweglich?»

Word by Word

• kasmāt: why; from what (cause)
• kasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुं (प्रश्न), पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन — “from what cause?/why?”

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — demonstrative “that” (referring to liṅga)

• pātitam: caused to fall; felled
• pātitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pat (धातु) → pātita (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — “made to fall/caused to fall” qualifying liṅgam

• liṃgam: the liṅga
• liṃgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṃga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — topic/object

• vālakhilyaiḥ: by the Vālakhilya sages
• vālakhilyaiḥ: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vālakhilya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — agent in passive

• mahātmabhiḥ: by great-souled (ones)
• mahātmabhiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — adjective of vālakhilyaiḥ

• kasmāt: why
• kasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पञ्चमी, एकवचन — “why?”

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक) — “there”

• acalaḥ: immovable; fixed
• acalaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: acala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — predicate adjective of maheśvaraḥ/devadevaḥ

• jātaḥ: became; arose
• jātaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (धातु) → jāta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — “became/was born”

• deva-devaḥ: god of gods
• deva-devaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी) “देवानां देवः”

• maheśvaraḥ: Maheśvara (Śiva)
• maheśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — subject apposition

Speaker

Yayāti

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra (Arbudācala) Maheśvara-liṅga (Sthāṇu/Acala)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārthiva-sattama (a king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A royal inquirer gestures toward a mountain shrine where a liṅga is shown as ‘fallen/placed’ upon rock; Vālakhilya sages stand nearby, while Maheśvara is implied as Sthāṇu—still, immense, and present in the landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Vālakhilyas
• Liṅga
• Maheśvara (Śiva)
• Devadeva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred history asks for causes behind holy manifestations, showing that divine presence is tied to dharma, tapas, and cosmic purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A liṅga-site where Śiva became ‘acala’ (immovable); the exact identification is expected in the continuation of the chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an inquiry prompting the forthcoming māhātmya explanation.