Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

आगत्य पुनरप्यत्र शंभोरानंदकानने । मुनिवृंदारकैः सार्धं लिंगमस्थापयद्धरिः

Transliteration

āgatya punarapyatra śaṃbhorānaṃdakānane | munivṛṃdārakaiḥ sārdhaṃ liṃgamasthāpayaddhariḥ

Translation

Revenant encore en ce lieu—l’Ānandakānana de Śambhu—Hari, avec des multitudes de vénérables sages, y établit un liṅga.

Word by Word

• āgatya: having come
• āgatya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √gam (धातु) + ā- उपसर्ग; āgatya (कृदन्त)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), avyaya; ‘having come’

• punar: again
• punar: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb

• api: also/indeed
• api: Sambandha/Emphasis (Nipāta)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; particle (emphasis/addition)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; deictic adverb (place)

• śaṃbhoḥ: of Śambhu (Śiva)
• śaṃbhoḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃbhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī (6th/सम्बन्ध), Ekavacana

• ānaṃdakānane: in the Ānanda-grove
• ānaṃdakānane: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + kānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa; Napuṃsaka, Saptamī (7th/अधिकरण), Ekavacana

• munivṛṃdārakaiḥ: with the excellent sages
• munivṛṃdārakaiḥ: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment/Instrumental)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛṃdāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa (‘muni’-qualifying ‘vṛṃdāraka’ = excellent sages); Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd/करण-सह), Bahuvacana

• sārdham: together with
• sārdham: Sahārtha (Comitative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sārdham (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb meaning ‘together with’ (often with instrumental)

• liṅgam: liṅga (Śiva-emblem)
• liṅgam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsaka, Dvitīyā (2nd/कर्म), Ekavacana

• asthāpayat: installed, established
• asthāpayat: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + ā- उपसर्ग; sthāpayati (णिच् causative)
• Form: Laṅ-lakāra (Imperfect/Past), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana, Parasmaipada; causative (णिच्)

• hariḥ: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• hariḥ: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st/कर्ता), Ekavacana

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandakānana (Anandavana)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In the bliss-grove of Śiva, Hari arrives with a congregation of sages; a liṅga is ceremonially installed amid Vedic chants, flowers, and sacred fire, with forested serenity around.

Characters & Entities

• Śambhu (Śiva)
• Ānandakānana
• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Liṅga
• Sages (Munis)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kāśī, devotion transcends sectarian boundaries: even Hari honors Śiva by establishing a liṅga in Śiva’s sacred grove.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śambhu’s Ānandakānana in Kāśī, presented as a sanctified zone for liṅga-pratiṣṭhā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-sthāpanā (installation of a Śiva-liṅga), performed with the support/presence of sages.