Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

एतदंतरमासाद्य समागत्य महीतले । लिंगमाच्छादयामास वज्रेणैव शतक्रतुः

Transliteration

etadaṃtaramāsādya samāgatya mahītale | liṃgamācchādayāmāsa vajreṇaiva śatakratuḥ

Translation

Profitant de cet intervalle, Śatakratu (Indra) descendit sur la terre et recouvrit le Liṅga de son propre Vajra.

Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etat (एतद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः; द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; (antaram इति विशेष्यम्)

• antaram: interval; opportunity
• antaram: Karman (Object/कर्म) (āsādya इत्यस्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (अन्तर) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः; द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; 'interval/opportunity'

• āsādya: having obtained; having found
• āsādya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā- + √sad (सद्) / √sād (साद्) (धातु) + ल्यप् (absolutive)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्तम् (gerund); 'having reached/obtained'

• samāgatya: having arrived
• samāgatya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā- + √gam (गम्) + ल्यप्
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्तम्; 'having come together/arrived'

• mahī-tale: on the earth’s surface
• mahī-tale: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (मही) + tala (तल) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (मही-तल = surface of earth); नपुंसकलिङ्गः; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचनम्

• liṅgam: the liṅga
• liṅgam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (लिङ्ग) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः; द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• ācchādayāmāsa: covered
• ācchādayāmāsa: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā- + √chad (छद्) + णिच् (causative)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; णिजन्त-रूपम्; 'he covered'

• vajreṇa: with the thunderbolt
• vajreṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vajra (वज्र) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः; तृतीया, एकवचनम्

• eva: indeed; just
• eva: Nipāta (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (एव)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारणार्थकः

• śatakratuḥ: Śatakratu (Indra)
• śatakratuḥ: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (शत) + kratu (क्रतु) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (शतं क्रतवः यस्य = इन्द्रः); पुंलिङ्गः; प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Śiva (Mahēśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mūlacaṇḍīśa-liṅga (Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra descends swiftly from the sky to the coastal sacred ground and, with his thunderbolt, covers or seals the liṅga, hiding its radiance from seekers.

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Śatakratu)
• Vajra
• Liṅga
• Earth (mahītala)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even gods may act from anxiety over spiritual outcomes, yet the sanctity of a true tīrtha ultimately prevails.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, centered on a powerful Śiva-Liṅga that even Indra attempts to obscure.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual instruction; it narrates Indra’s act of concealment of the Liṅga.