Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि शांडिल्येश्वरमुत्तमम् । ब्रह्मणः पश्चिमे भागे धनुषां षोडशांतरे

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi śāṃḍilyeśvaramuttamam | brahmaṇaḥ paścime bhāge dhanuṣāṃ ṣoḍaśāṃtare

Translation

Īśvara sprach: „Dann, o große Göttin, soll man zum erhabensten Śāṇḍilyeśvara gehen. Er liegt westlich vom (Heiligtum des) Brahmā, in einer Entfernung von sechzehn dhanuṣ (Bogenlängen).“

Word by Word

• ईश्वरः: Īśvara (Lord Śiva)
• ईश्वरः: कर्ता (Speaker/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (masc nom sg)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: क्रिया (Speech)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परिपूर्णभूत); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (perfect; 3rd sg)

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: कालाधिकरण (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तदनन्तरार्थक (adverb: then/thereafter)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: क्रिया (Injunction)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (आज्ञार्थ/संभावना); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (optative; 3rd sg, ‘should go’)

• महादेवि: O great goddess
• महादेवि: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (vocative sg)

• शाण्डिल्येश्वरम्: Śāṇḍilyeśvara (name of the liṅga)
• शाण्डिल्येश्वरम्: कर्म (Object/goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाण्डिल्य (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (acc sg)

• उत्तमम्: excellent/supreme
• उत्तमम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (acc sg)

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: सम्बन्ध (Reference/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (genitive sg)

• पश्चिमे: in the western
• पश्चिमे: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पश्चिम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative sg)

• भागे: part/region
• भागे: अधिकरण (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative sg)

• धनुषाम्: of bows (as a distance measure)
• धनुषाम्: परिमाण-सम्बन्ध (Measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन (genitive plural; measure ‘of bows’)

• षोडश-अन्तरे: at a distance of sixteen (bows)
• षोडश-अन्तरे: अधिकरण (Location/measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षोडश (संख्या) + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative sg)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śāṇḍilyeśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (Īśvara) instructs Devī on a pilgrimage route; a stylized sacred map appears as temples aligned by cardinal directions; a small shrine labeled ‘Brahmā’ and, to its west, the Śāṇḍilyeśvara liṅga; pilgrims walk with waterpots.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
• Śāṇḍilyeśvara
• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is presented as a disciplined, purposeful movement through sacred geography, guided by revealed directions to holy liṅgas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śāṇḍilyeśvara in Prabhāsa Kṣetra, located west of the Brahmā shrine.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The instruction is to go/visit (darśana-yātrā) Śāṇḍilyeśvara; no specific dāna/snānā/japa is stated in this verse.