Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

अग्निना यत्र तप्तं तु दिव्याब्दानां चतुर्युगम् । मेघवाहनकल्पे तु तत्र लिंगं बभूव ह

Transliteration

agninā yatra taptaṃ tu divyābdānāṃ caturyugam | meghavāhanakalpe tu tatra liṃgaṃ babhūva ha

Translation

Allí donde el fuego abrasó durante cuatro yugas de años divinos, allí mismo, en el Kalpa de Meghavāhana, un Liṅga se manifestó.

Word by Word

• अग्निना: by fire
• अग्निना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental), एकवचनम्

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location marker/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• तप्तम्: was heated/burnt
• तप्तम्: Karma (Implied object state/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; कर्मणि-भावः (burnt/heated)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः

• दिव्याब्दानाम्: of divine years
• दिव्याब्दानाम्: Sambandha (Measure/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिव्य + अब्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive), बहुवचनम्; 'दिव्याः अब्दाः'

• चतुर्युगम्: a four-yuga period
• चतुर्युगम्: Karma (Extent/measure as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् + युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्; द्विगु-समासः (a period of four yugas)

• मेघवाहनकल्पे: in the Meghavāhana kalpa
• मेघवाहनकल्पे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेघवाहन + कल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्; 'मेघवाहन-नाम्नि कल्पे'

• तु: then/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location marker/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-अव्यय (there)

• लिंगम्: liṅga (emblem)
• लिंगम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), एकवचनम्

• बभूव: came to be/appeared
• बभूव: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• ह: indeed (it is said)
• ह: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (emphatic/itihāsa particle)

Speaker

Śiva (contextual continuity of narration in Adhyāya 4)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa liṅga-prādurbhāva-sthāna (Somnātha/Prabhāsa complex, broadly)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī addressed as ‘surasundarī’

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A barren, fire-scorched sacred ground at Prabhāsa across vast mythic time; then, in a moment of grace, a radiant liṅga rises/appears, cooling light replacing heat, with devas witnessing.

Characters & Entities

• Agni (fire)
• Liṅga
• Meghavāhana Kalpa
• Prabhāsa (implied locus)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sites are framed as cosmically ancient: the liṅga’s manifestation is tied to kalpa-and-yuga scale events, amplifying the kṣetra’s greatness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (implied), describing the locale where the liṅga manifested.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse provides a mythic provenance for liṅga worship at the site.