Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । तस्यैवानन्तरं तीर्थं लिङ्गेश्वरमिति श्रुतम् । दर्शनाद्देवदेवस्य यत्र पापं प्रणश्यति

Transliteration

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tasyaivānantaraṃ tīrthaṃ liṅgeśvaramiti śrutam | darśanāddevadevasya yatra pāpaṃ praṇaśyati

Translation

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Next to that is a sacred tīrtha renowned as Liṅgeśvara. By the mere sight (darśana) of the God of gods there, sin is destroyed.”

Word by Word

• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: the revered Mārkaṇḍeya
• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: Karta (Speaker/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री-मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः: श्रीमान् मार्कण्डेयः (honorific)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriyā (Speech act)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तस्य: of that (place/thing)
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• एव: indeed
• एव: Emphasis (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis)

• अनन्तरम्: immediately after
• अनन्तरम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषणार्थे (immediately after)

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• तीर्थम्: Karta (Subject of implied ‘asti/śrutam’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• लिङ्गेश्वरम्: (called) Liṅgeśvara
• लिङ्गेश्वरम्: Samjñā (Apposition/name of tīrtha)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: लिङ्गस्य ईश्वरः; नाम (proper name of tīrtha)

• इति: thus, as
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/नामनिर्देश (quotative)

• श्रुतम्: is heard/known
• श्रुतम्: Kriyā (Predicate: ‘is known’)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थः (it is heard/known)

• दर्शनात्: from seeing, by the sight
• दर्शनात्: Hetu (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (cause)

• देवदेवस्य: of the God of gods
• देवदेवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive with दर्शनात्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव-देव (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: देवानां देवः (god of gods)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक/स्थानवाचक (relative adverb: where)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• प्रणश्यति: perishes, is destroyed
• प्रणश्यति: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; उपसर्गः प्र-

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Liṅgeśvara

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya points out the next tīrtha: a riverbank shrine with a luminous Śiva-liṅga; pilgrims arrive, and a dark aura of sin is symbolically dispelled by the liṅga’s radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Liṅgeśvara
• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana of Śiva at a sanctified site is itself a purifier; sacred geography and devotion work together to dissolve pāpa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Liṅgeśvara Tīrtha, described as located immediately after the previously mentioned tīrtha in Revākhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana (visiting and beholding the deity) is highlighted as efficacious; no further rite is specified in this verse.