Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 160

Devanagari script

तदुत्तरे मतंगेशो गानविद्याप्रबोधकः । मतंगेशस्य वायव्ये नानालिंगानि सर्वतः

Transliteration

taduttare mataṃgeśo gānavidyāprabodhakaḥ | mataṃgeśasya vāyavye nānāliṃgāni sarvataḥ

Translation

To the north of that is Mataṅgeśa, who awakens the sacred knowledge of music. To the northwest of Mataṅgeśa, in every direction, many liṅgas are found.

Word by Word

• tat: of that; its
• tat: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (genitive singular)

• uttare: to the north; in the northern (side)
• uttare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (neuter locative singular)

• mataṃgeśaḥ: Mataṅgeśa
• mataṃgeśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mataṃga (प्रातिपदिक) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (masc nom sg)

• gānavidyāprabodhakaḥ: awakener/teacher of the knowledge of music
• gānavidyāprabodhakaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gāna (प्रातिपदिक) + vidyā (प्रातिपदिक) + prabodhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘गान-विद्या-प्रबोधक’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण (masc nom sg)

• mataṃgeśasya: of Mataṅgeśa
• mataṃgeśasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mataṃgeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन (masc gen sg)

• vāyavye: in the northwest
• vāyavye: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyavya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (neuter locative singular)

• nānāliṃgāni: various liṅgas
• nānāliṃgāni: Karta/Pradhāna (Subject/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nānā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘नाना-लिङ्ग’ = various liṅgas); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन (neuter nom/acc pl)

• sarvataḥ: everywhere; on all sides
• sarvataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvatas (अव्यय)
• Form: तस्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय; सर्वदिक्/सर्वतः (adverb: on all sides)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mataṅgeśa and the northwest liṅga-cluster

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-seeker interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Mataṅgeśa shrine, a devotee-musician offers a raga before the liṅga; nearby, in the northwest quarter, numerous small liṅgas appear like a sacred grove of stones, each with flowers and ash markings.

Characters & Entities

• Mataṅgeśa
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kāśī, devotion is linked with refinement of inner faculties; Śiva’s shrines are celebrated as sources of vidyā, including the arts.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mataṅgeśa liṅga, noted for awakening gāna-vidyā, and the surrounding cluster of many liṅgas to the northwest.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse highlights the spiritual fruit associated with approaching Mataṅgeśa and the surrounding liṅgas.