Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

शिवरूपा जगद्योनिः कार्यकारणरूपिणी । लिंगरूपी स भगवान्निमग्नस्तत्क्षणादभूत्

Transliteration

śivarūpā jagadyoniḥ kāryakāraṇarūpiṇī | liṃgarūpī sa bhagavānnimagnastatkṣaṇādabhūt

Translation

Sous la forme de Śiva, matrice du monde, figure de la cause et de l’effet—Lui, le Seigneur Bienheureux, devenu Liṅga, fut en cet instant même établi en son lieu.

Word by Word

• शिवरूपा: having Śiva as form
• शिवरूपा: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिव-रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: कर्मधारय (शिवः रूपं यस्याः/शिवं रूपं), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; "जगद्योनिः"-विशेषण

• जगद्योनिः: the womb/source of the world
• जगद्योनिः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत्-योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (जगतः योनिः), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कार्यकारणरूपिणी: having the nature of effect and cause
• कार्यकारणरूपिणी: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कार्य-कारण-रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: द्वन्द्व (कार्यं च कारणं च) + तत्पुरुष/उपपद (तयोः रूपिणी); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; "जगद्योनिः"-विशेषण

• लिङ्गरूपी: in liṅga-form
• लिङ्गरूपी: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लिङ्ग-रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; "स"-विशेषण

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord
• भगवान्: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• निमग्नः: submerged, immersed
• निमग्नः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/State (Resultant state)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-मज्ज् (धातु) → निमग्न (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicative with "सः"

• तत्क्षणात्: immediately, at that moment
• तत्क्षणात्: Kāla (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्-क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास (तस्मिन् क्षणे/तत्क्षणम्) used adverbially; here with पञ्चमी-रूपेण "-आत्" = तत्क्षणात्, अर्थे: "immediately/at that moment"

• अभूत्: became, came to be
• अभूत्: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ्-लकार (aorist), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Lomaśa (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra-liṅga (Kedāranātha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous liṅga settles into the earth/altar as if ‘sinking into place’; around it, subtle imagery of creation—lotus, galaxies, elements—emanates, while devotees and Gaṇeśa witness in reverent stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Liṅga is not merely a symbol but the cosmic ground—Śiva as the source of the world and the nexus of cause and effect.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within Kedārakhaṇḍa, the description aligns with the sanctity of Kedāra (Kedarnath) as a place where the Liṅga is revered as world-source.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here, but the theology supports liṅga-pūjā as worship of the supreme cause.