Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

विद्युन्माली तारकाख्यः कपोलाख्यस्तथैव च । तैश्च प्रतिष्ठितं लिंगं दृष्ट्वा पापैः प्रमुच्यते

Transliteration

vidyunmālī tārakākhyaḥ kapolākhyastathaiva ca | taiśca pratiṣṭhitaṃ liṃgaṃ dṛṣṭvā pāpaiḥ pramucyate

Translation

Vidyunmālī, celui nommé Tāraka, et aussi celui appelé Kapola — eux établirent là un liṅga ; quiconque contemple ce liṅga est délivré des péchés.

Word by Word

• vidyunmālī: Vidyunmālī
• vidyunmālī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidyut + mālin (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (‘having a garland of lightning’)

• tāraka-ākhyaḥ: (one) named Tāraka
• tāraka-ākhyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāraka + ākhya (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘named Tāraka’)

• kapola-ākhyaḥ: (one) named Kapola
• kapola-ākhyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapola + ākhya (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘named Kapola’)

• tathā: thus/also
• tathā: Sambandha/Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb: ‘thus/so’)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha/Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक

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

• taiḥ: by them
• taiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha/Conjunction
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• pratiṣṭhitam: established
• pratiṣṭhitam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pratiṣṭhita (कृदन्त; √sthā (धातु) with prati-)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP) — ‘established’

• liṃgam: liṅga
• liṃgam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṃga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dṛṣṭvā (कृदन्त; √dṛś (धातु))
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive)

• pāpaiḥ: from sins
• pāpaiḥ: Apadana (Source/Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे अपादानार्थे (separation ‘from sins’)

• pramucyate: is completely freed
• pramucyate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√muc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya; specific speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Tripura-liṅga (liṅga established by Vidyunmālī, Tāraka, Kapola)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Three named Tripura figures are recalled as having established a liṅga; the present pilgrim beholds the liṅga and is symbolically unburdened—darkness lifting into clarity.

Characters & Entities

• Vidyunmālī
• Tāraka
• Kapola
• Śiva-liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana of a sanctified Śiva-liṅga in a famed kṣetra is taught as a direct purifier that cuts down accumulated sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to the Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya, pointing to Prabhāsa (Prabhas Patan/Somnath region) as the sacred setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No detailed rite is prescribed here; the stated practice is simply beholding (darśana) of the liṅga established by these figures.