Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि लिंगं त्रैलोक्यविश्रुतम् । गंगेश्वरेति विख्यातं संगमेश्वरपश्चिमे

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi liṃgaṃ trailokyaviśrutam | gaṃgeśvareti vikhyātaṃ saṃgameśvarapaścime

Translation

Īśvara sprach: „Dann, o Mahādevī, soll man zu dem Liṅga gehen, das in den drei Welten berühmt ist, bekannt als ‚Gaṅgeśvara‘, westlich von Saṃgameśvara.“

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमबोधक (then)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Injunctive action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महती देवी)

• liṅgam: liṅga (Śiva-emblem)
• liṅgam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• trailokya-viśrutam: renowned in the three worlds
• trailokya-viśrutam: Karman (Qualifier of liṅgam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri + loka (प्रातिपदिक) + viśruta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (त्रैलोक्ये विश्रुतम्) विशेषणम्

• gaṃgeśvara: Gaṅgeśvara
• gaṃgeśvara: Karta (Predicate-noun in naming)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (गङ्गायाः ईश्वरः)

• iti: thus (called)
• iti: Sambandha (Quotative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामनिर्देश/उद्धरणसूचक

• vikhyātam: well-known, famed
• vikhyātam: Karman (Qualifier of liṅgam)
• Type: Verb
• Root: khyā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (liṅgam इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• saṃgameśvara-paścime: to the west of Saṃgameśvara
• saṃgameśvara-paścime: Adhikarana (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃgameśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + paścima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (संगमेश्वरस्य पश्चिमे)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgeśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (Īśvara) instructs Pārvatī to proceed to the famed Gaṅgeśvara-liṅga situated west of Saṃgameśvara within the coastal sacred field of Prabhāsa; the landscape is dotted with shrines and pilgrims moving in a directional circuit.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī
• Gaṅgeśvara
• Saṃgameśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The māhātmya frames pilgrimage as a guided sacred itinerary where each shrine is a doorway to merit and remembrance of Śiva.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgeśvara liṅga, located west of Saṃgameśvara within Prabhāsa Kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prescription to ‘go’ (gacchet) to Gaṅgeśvara—implying pilgrimage and darśana/worship.