Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

व्यर्थश्रमोऽसि लोकेश नांतो लिंगस्य विद्यते । चतुर्युगसहस्राणां कोटिरेका पितामह

Transliteration

vyarthaśramo'si lokeśa nāṃto liṃgasya vidyate | caturyugasahasrāṇāṃ koṭirekā pitāmaha

Translation

“Sia-sialah jerih payahmu, wahai Penguasa alam; liṅga ini tiada berujung. Wahai Pitāmaha, sekalipun berlalu satu krore dan seribu putaran caturyuga, batasnya tetap tak tercapai.”

Word by Word

• व्यर्थश्रमः: fruitless effort
• व्यर्थश्रमः: Pradhāna-nāmapada (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘fruitless effort’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• असि: you are
• असि: Kriyā (Copula)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• लोकेश: O lord of the world
• लोकेश: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘lord of the world’); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• अन्तः: end/limit
• अन्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• लिङ्गस्य: of the liṅga
• लिङ्गस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• विद्यते: exists/is found
• विद्यते: Kriyā (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; भावे/सत्तायाम्: ‘exists/is found’

• चतुर्युगसहस्राणाम्: of thousands of four-yuga cycles
• चतुर्युगसहस्राणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + युग (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: चतुर्युग (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष ‘four-yuga’) + सहस्र (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘thousands of four-yugas’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• कोटिः: a crore
• कोटिः: Karta (Subject/implicit: ‘a crore…’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• एका: one/single
• एका: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier of ‘koṭiḥ’)

• पितामह: O grandsire (Brahmā)
• पितामह: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Ketakī flower (addressing Brahmā)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Anādi-Ananta Liṅga (doctrinal tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brahmā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The speaking flower admonishes Brahmā: even after unimaginably vast yuga-cycles, the liṅga’s end is not found; Brahmā appears paused, chastened, against the backdrop of the endless pillar.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Pitāmaha)
• Śiva (as the endless Liṅga)
• Ketakī flower

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Absolute (Śiva symbolized by the liṅga) is limitless; even cosmic time cannot measure the divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a specific tīrtha; it glorifies the liṅga as a universal symbol of Śiva’s boundlessness, supporting the mahātmya tone of Arbuda-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a theological statement about the endless liṅga.