Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

लिंगानां द्वितयं पूर्वे पश्चिमे सम्मुखद्वयम् । कुशकेश्वरनामेति लिंगं वै प्रथमं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

liṃgānāṃ dvitayaṃ pūrve paścime sammukhadvayam | kuśakeśvaranāmeti liṃgaṃ vai prathamaṃ smṛtam

Translation

Zwei der Liṅgas stehen im Osten, und zwei stehen ihnen gegenüber im Westen. Der erste Liṅga wird unter dem Namen Kuśakeśvara in Erinnerung gehalten.

Word by Word

• liṃgānām: of liṅgas
• liṃgānām: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṃga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन

• dvitayam: a pair (two)
• dvitayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvitaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; ‘द्वयम्’ = pair

• pūrve: in the east
• pūrve: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; ‘पूर्वे (दिशि)’

• paścime: in the west
• paścime: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paścima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; ‘पश्चिमे (दिशि)’

• sammukha-dvayam: a pair facing (front)
• sammukha-dvayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sammukha (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; ‘सम्मुख’ इति विशेषणेन ‘द्वय’

• kuśakeśvara-nāma: named Kuśakeśvara
• kuśakeśvara-nāma: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kuśakeśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; ‘कुशकेश्वर-नाम’ = having the name Kuśakeśvara (qualifies liṃgam)

• iti: thus
• iti: Quotation marker (इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-उक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative)

• liṃgam: the liṅga
• liṃgam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṃga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Emphasis (निश्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• prathamam: the first
• prathamam: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prathama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषणम् (qualifies liṃgam)

• smṛtam: is said/recorded
• smṛtam: Kriya (Predicative/क्रियासमाना)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘स्मृतम्’ = is said/remembered

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (continued from 173.1)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kuśakeśvara (within the Catuṣliṅga precinct)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A compact shrine-courtyard showing four liṅgas arranged in two facing pairs, with the first highlighted as Kuśakeśvara.

Characters & Entities

• Kuśakeśvara
• Four liṅgas (catuṣṭaya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa frames geography as theology: names and placements of liṅgas are part of the sacred revelation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The four-liṅga cluster in Prabhāsa Kṣetra, beginning with Kuśakeśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit darśana/visit of the liṅgas; this verse primarily gives location and naming.