Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

गालव उवाच । इति ते कथितं सर्वं शालग्रामकथानकम् । महेश्वरस्य चोत्पत्तिर्यथा लिंगत्वमाप सः

Transliteration

gālava uvāca | iti te kathitaṃ sarvaṃ śālagrāmakathānakam | maheśvarasya cotpattiryathā liṃgatvamāpa saḥ

Translation

Gālava dit : «Ainsi t’ai-je exposé en entier le récit de Śālagrāma, et aussi comment Maheśvara se manifesta et comment il en vint à prendre la forme du liṅga.»

Word by Word

• gālavaḥ: Gālava
• gālavaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gālava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Speech act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्तिसूचक-अव्यय (quotative/thus)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी (Dative), एकवचनम्

• kathitam: told/narrated
• kathitam: Kriyā (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; कर्मणि प्रयोगे (it has been told)

• sarvam: all
• sarvam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Predicate qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (qualifying kathitam)

• śālagrāmakathānakam: the tale of Śālagrāma
• śālagrāmakathānakam: Karmaṇi-bhāva (Topic/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śālagrāma (प्रातिपदिक) + kathānaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (śālagrāmasya kathānakaṃ), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; समनाधिकरणम् (apposition to sarvam/kathitam)

• maheśvarasya: of Maheśvara
• maheśvarasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• utpattiḥ: origin/arising
• utpattiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: utpatti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• yathā: how/just as
• yathā: Prakāra (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (how/as)

• liṅgatvam: the state of being a liṅga
• liṅgatvam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + tva (तद्धित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• āpa: attained
• āpa: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Gālava

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śālagrāma

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahāśūdra (addressed later in the sequence)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage (Gālava) concludes a sacred narration, gesturing toward a dark, rounded Śālagrāma stone on a pedestal; behind it a subtle emergence of Maheśvara as a radiant liṅga-form, suggesting unity of Hari and Hara.

Characters & Entities

• Gālava
• Śālagrāma
• Maheśvara (Śiva)
• liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred narratives (kathā) transmit the theology of divine manifestation—especially the sanctity of liṅga and Śālagrāma worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The surrounding context continues the Revā/Śālagrāma tīrtha stream; this verse functions as a transition into the liṅga-focused teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it introduces the topic of liṅga-form and Śālagrāma account as a basis for worship.