Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । तथान्यदपि वो वच्मि लिंगं यत्तत्र संस्थितम् । स्थापितं पिप्पलादेन कंसारेश्वरमित्यहो

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | tathānyadapi vo vacmi liṃgaṃ yattatra saṃsthitam | sthāpitaṃ pippalādena kaṃsāreśvaramityaho

Translation

Sūta dit : Je vais aussi vous parler d’un autre liṅga établi en ce lieu—installé par Pippalāda—connu, en vérité, sous le nom de Kaṃsāreśvara.

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; वक्ता/कर्ता

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tathā: thus; likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb)

• anyat: another (thing)
• anyat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अवधारण particle)

• vaḥ: to you (all)
• vaḥ: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी) बहुवचन; सर्वनाम; सम्बन्ध (to you all)

• vacmi: I tell
• vacmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• liṅgam: (Śiva-)liṅga
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun) liṅgam-सम्बन्धि

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक adverb)

• saṃsthitam: situated; established
• saṃsthitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-√sthā (धातु)
• Form: कृत्-प्रत्यय: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; liṅgam-विशेषण

• sthāpitam: installed
• sthāpitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु) (णिच् causative: sthāpaya-)
• Form: क्त (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; liṅgam-विशेषण

• pippalādena: by Pippalāda
• pippalādena: Karana (Instrument/Agent/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pippalāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण/कर्तृ-निर्देश (agent in passive)

• kaṃsāra-īśvaram: (named) Kaṃsāreśvara
• kaṃsāra-īśvaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṃsāri (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; liṅgasya नाम (appositional object)

• iti: thus (called)
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्धरण-समाप्ति marker)

• aho: indeed!; ah!
• aho: Sambandha (Exclamation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विस्मय/सम्बोधन particle)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kaṃsāreśvara-liṅga (within Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta addressing seated sages; behind him a small shrine with a dark stone liṅga on a yoni-pīṭha, labeled Kaṃsāreśvara; Pippalāda shown in a vignette installing the liṅga under a sacred tree or near a riverbank.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Pippalāda
• Kaṃsāreśvara (liṅga)
• Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are authenticated through sacred installations; devotion expressed by establishing a liṅga becomes a lasting source of merit for pilgrims.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sacred precinct ‘there’ refers to the Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya setting within Nāgara Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, liṅga-sthāpana (installation) is praised by narration; explicit rites are not detailed in this verse.