Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । अथ लब्धवरस्तत्र कृतार्थो भक्तिसंयुतः । स्थापयामास लिंगं स गन्धर्वो घनवाहनः । सोमेशादुत्तरे भागे दंडपाणिसमीपतः । गन्धर्वेश्वरनामानं गान्धर्वफलदायकम्

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | atha labdhavarastatra kṛtārtho bhaktisaṃyutaḥ | sthāpayāmāsa liṃgaṃ sa gandharvo ghanavāhanaḥ | someśāduttare bhāge daṃḍapāṇisamīpataḥ | gandharveśvaranāmānaṃ gāndharvaphaladāyakam

Translation

Īśvara sprach: Dann, nachdem er dort Gaben erlangt hatte, sein Ziel erfüllt und von Hingabe durchdrungen, errichtete der Gandharva Ghanavāhana einen Liṅga. Er wurde nördlich von Someśvara, nahe bei Daṇḍapāṇi, aufgestellt, trug den Namen „Gandharveśvara“ und schenkt Früchte, die den Gandharvas zugehören.

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (Lord Śiva)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (sequencing particle)

• labdha-varaḥ: having obtained a boon
• labdha-varaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: labdha (कृदन्त; √labh धातु) + vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘वरं लब्धः’ इति षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-प्रायः तत्पुरुष; विशेषण

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• kṛta-arthaḥ: fulfilled, successful
• kṛta-arthaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त; √kṛ धातु) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अर्थः कृतः’ इति तत्पुरुष; विशेषण

• bhakti-saṃyutaḥ: endowed with devotion
• bhakti-saṃyutaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyuta (कृदन्त; √yuj धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘भक्त्या संयुतः’ इति तृतीया-तत्पुरुष; विशेषण

• sthāpayāmāsa: installed, caused to be set up
• sthāpayāmāsa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोजक (causative) भावः—‘स्थापयति’

• liṅgam: liṅga (Śiva-emblem)
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• gandharvaḥ: the Gandharva
• gandharvaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandharva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ghanavāhanaḥ: Ghanavāhana (proper name)
• ghanavāhanaḥ: Karta (Apposition/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghana (प्रातिपदिक) + vāhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नाम; ‘घनः वाहनं यस्य’ इति बहुव्रीहि-सम्भाव्य, परन्तु प्रचलित-नामरूपेण समासग्रहणम्

• someśāt: from Someśa
• someśāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: someśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• uttare: in the northern
• uttare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; विशेषण (भागे इति)

• bhāge: part/section
• bhāge: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• daṇḍapāṇi-samīpataḥ: near Daṇḍapāṇi
• daṇḍapāṇi-samīpataḥ: Adhikarana (Proximity/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: daṇḍapāṇi (प्रातिपदिक) + samīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त ‘-तः’ (ablatival adverb) — ‘समīपात्/निकटात्’; ‘दण्डपाणि-समīप’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• gandharveśvara-nāmānam: named ‘Gandharveśvara’
• gandharveśvara-nāmānam: Karma (Object complement/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gandharva (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘गन्धर्वेश्वर’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (गन्धर्वाणाम् ईश्वरः) + ‘नāmānam’ = ‘नाम्ना युक्तम्/नामधेयम्’; विशेषण (लिङ्गम् इति)

• gāndharva-phala-dāyakam: bestowing Gandharva-related fruits/boons
• gāndharva-phala-dāyakam: Karma (Object complement/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gāndharva (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक) + dāyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘फलदायक’ इति उपपद-तत्पुरुष (फलम् ददाति) तथा ‘गान्धर्वफल’ इति षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-प्रायः; विशेषण (लिङ्गम् इति)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gandharveśvara (within Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Gandharva Ghanavāhana installs a newly consecrated liṅga named Gandharveśvara north of Someśvara, near the Daṇḍapāṇi shrine; priests pour abhiṣeka while the daughter offers flowers; directional markers and nearby shrines indicate sacred geography.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara
• Ghanavāhana
• Someśvara
• Daṇḍapāṇi
• Gandharveśvara
• Prabhāsa Kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Gratitude for divine grace is expressed through establishing sacred presence (liṅga-pratiṣṭhā), anchoring devotion in sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gandharveśvara liṅga in Prabhāsa Kṣetra, situated north of Someśvara near Daṇḍapāṇi.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-sthāpana (establishing a liṅga) and the implied continued worship of that shrine.