Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

अग्निष्वात्ता बर्हिषदः सोमपा आज्यपास्तथा । लिंगं संस्थापयामासुः सर्वे भक्तिपरायणाः

Transliteration

agniṣvāttā barhiṣadaḥ somapā ājyapāstathā | liṃgaṃ saṃsthāpayāmāsuḥ sarve bhaktiparāyaṇāḥ

Translation

Les Agniṣvātta, les Barhiṣad, les Somapā et aussi les Ājyapā — tous voués à la bhakti — établirent un liṅga de Śiva.

Word by Word

• agniṣvāttāḥ: the Agniṣvāttas (a class of Pitṛs)
• agniṣvāttāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agniṣvātta (प्रातिपदिक; अग्निष्वात्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; पितृ-विशेष-नाम

• barhiṣadaḥ: the Barhiṣads
• barhiṣadaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: barhiṣad (प्रातिपदिक; बर्हिषद्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; पितृ-विशेष-नाम

• somapāḥ: the Somapās
• somapāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: somapā (प्रातिपदिक; सोमपा)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; पितृ-विशेष-नाम

• ājyapāḥ: the Ājyapās
• ājyapāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ājyapā (प्रातिपदिक; आज्यपा)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; पितृ-विशेष-नाम

• tathā: likewise; also
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/तुल्यवृत्ति (adverb: likewise/also)

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

• saṃsthāpayāmāsuḥ: they established
• saṃsthāpayāmāsuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-sthā (धातु) + ṇic (causative)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्; णिजन्त (causative: caused to be established/ स्थापितवन्तः)

• sarve: all
• sarve: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying implied pitaraḥ)

• bhaktiparāyaṇāḥ: devotion-dedicated; devoted
• bhaktiparāyaṇāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhakti-parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; भक्ति + परायण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (continuing narration to Mahādevī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (liṅga-sthāpana-sthāna)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Four classes of Pitṛs—Agniṣvāttas, Barhiṣads, Somapās, Ājyapās—collectively installing a Śiva-liṅga at Prabhāsa: ritual vessels, sacred grass, offerings, and a newly set liṅga on a pedestal, with devotional intensity.

Characters & Entities

• Agniṣvātta Pitṛs
• Barhiṣad Pitṛs
• Somapā Pitṛs
• Ājyapā Pitṛs
• Śiva-liṅga
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral beings themselves model devotion by establishing Śiva worship, linking pitṛ-dharma with śaiva-bhakti.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the Pitṛs established a liṅga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-pratiṣṭhā (establishing a Śiva-liṅga), presented as an exemplary act of devotion.