Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

अनेन प्रविभागेन लिंगान्यपि कुरूद्वह । आयातानि यथा पूजां विदधाति पितामहः

Transliteration

anena pravibhāgena liṃgānyapi kurūdvaha | āyātāni yathā pūjāṃ vidadhāti pitāmahaḥ

Translation

In this very distribution, O best of the Kurus, liṅgas—Śiva-emblems—also arrived; and the Grandfather (Brahmā) performed their worship in due manner.

Word by Word

• anena: by this
• anena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — ‘अनेन’ = by this/with this

• pravibhāgena: by (this) division
• pravibhāgena: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pravibhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — ‘प्रविभागेन’ = by the classification/division

• liṃgāni: liṅgas
• liṃgāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन — ‘लिङ्गानि’ (शिवलिङ्गानि)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अपि=also/even)

• kurūdvaha: O best of the Kurus
• kurūdvaha: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuru (प्रातिपदिक) + ud-vah (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — ‘कुरूद्वह’ = O best of the Kurus

• āyātāni: having arrived
• āyātāni: Karta (predicate; implied subject = liṅgāni)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-√yā (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — ‘आयातानि’ = having come

• yathā: as, in the manner that
• yathā: Sambandha (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमान/प्रकारवाचक) — as/according as

• pūjām: worship
• pūjām: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūjā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — ‘पूजाम्’

• vidadhāti: performs, offers
• vidadhāti: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√dhā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘विदधाति’ = performs/arranges

• pitāmahaḥ: the Grandfather (Brahmā)
• pitāmahaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘पितामहः’ (ब्रह्मा)

Speaker

Nārada

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Koṭitīrtha-sannidhau Liṅga-kṣetra (liṅga presence amid tīrthas)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kuru-śreṣṭha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Numerous liṅgas appear/arrive in ordered distribution; Brahmā, as officiant, arranges offerings and begins formal worship, surrounded by assembled tīrthas personified as reverent attendants.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Pitāmaha)
• Śiva-liṅga
• Arjuna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-māhātmya culminates in devotion: sacred waters and Śiva-worship are presented as mutually reinforcing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Koṭitīrtha, where innumerable tīrthas and liṅgas are said to converge.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pūjā (worship) of liṅgas—formal reverence offered by Brahmā as the exemplary act.