Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

सर्वदेवमयं स्थानं सर्वतीर्थमयं तथा । देवकोटिसमाकीर्णं कोटिलिङ्गोत्तमोत्तमम्

Transliteration

sarvadevamayaṃ sthānaṃ sarvatīrthamayaṃ tathā | devakoṭisamākīrṇaṃ koṭiliṅgottamottamam

Translation

C’est un lieu pénétré de tous les dieux, et pareillement rempli de l’essence de tous les tīrthas. Encombré de crores de divinités, Koṭiliṅga est le meilleur des meilleurs sanctuaires.

Word by Word

• सर्वदेवमयम्: consisting of all gods
• सर्वदेवमयम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + देव + मय (प्रातिपदिक-समाहार)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् ‘स्थानम्’; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (all-gods-constituted)

• स्थानम्: place, sacred spot
• स्थानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1/2), एकवचन; विषय/वस्तु (the place)

• सर्वतीर्थमयम्: consisting of all pilgrimage places
• सर्वतीर्थमयम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + तीर्थ + मय (प्रातिपदिक-समाहार)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् ‘स्थानम्’; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• तथा: and also, likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अन्वय (also, likewise)

• देवकोटिसमाकीर्णम्: filled with crores of gods
• देवकोटिसमाकीर्णम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देव + कोटि + सम्-आ-कीर्ण (कृदन्त; √कॄ/कीर् ‘to scatter’ → कीर्ण)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1/2), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past participle) ‘समाकीर्ण’; विशेषणम् ‘स्थानम्’; तत्पुरुष (by crores of gods filled)

• कोटिलिङ्गोत्तमोत्तमम्: supremely excellent with crores of liṅgas
• कोटिलिङ्गोत्तमोत्तमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोटि + लिङ्ग + उत्तम + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक-समाहार)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् ‘स्थानम्’; तत्पुरुष (having crores of liṅgas; supremely excellent)

Speaker

Deductive (Revā-khaṇḍa narrator/ṛṣi praising the shrine to a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Koṭiliṅga

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grand Śaiva kṣetra with countless subtle divine forms surrounding a central liṅga—suggesting ‘crores of deities’—and symbolic emblems of many tīrthas converging into one sanctum.

Characters & Entities

• Koṭiliṅga
• Devas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain shrines are celebrated as concentrated embodiments of the entire sacred cosmos—gods and tīrthas gathered into one sanctifying locus.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

Koṭiliṅga is explicitly praised as an unsurpassed sacred site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

This verse primarily offers stuti (glorification) of the place; ritual details are given in surrounding verses of the pilgrimage sequence.