Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मादिस्तम्बपर्यन्तं यस्मिन्नेति लयं जगत् । एकभावं समापन्नं लिङ्गं तस्माद्विदुर्बुधाः

Transliteration

brahmādistambaparyantaṃ yasminneti layaṃ jagat | ekabhāvaṃ samāpannaṃ liṅgaṃ tasmādvidurbudhāḥ

Translation

ബ്രഹ്മാവിൽ നിന്ന് പുല്ലിന്റെ അറ്റം വരെ ഈ സർവ്വജഗത്ത് ഏതിൽ ലയിക്കുന്നു, എല്ലാം ഏകഭാവമായി ഏകീകരിക്കുന്ന ആ തത്ത്വം തന്നെയാണ് ‘ലിംഗം’ എന്ന് ജ്ഞാനികൾ അറിയുന്നു.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मादि: beginning with Brahmā
• ब्रह्मादि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम् (समासपूर्वपद); ‘ब्रह्मादि-’ इति (beginning with Brahmā)

• स्तम्बपर्यन्तम्: up to a stump (i.e., to the lowest)
• स्तम्बपर्यन्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्तम्ब (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्यन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम्; ‘-पर्यन्तम्’ (up to)

• यस्मिन्: in which
• यस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचनम्

• एति: goes/attains
• एति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: इ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• लयम्: dissolution
• लयम्: Gati-Karma (Goal/Object/गतिकर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• जगत्: the world
• जगत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• एकभावम्: oneness
• एकभावम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; ‘एक-भाव’ (oneness)

• समापन्नम्: having attained
• समापन्नम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आपद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; ‘प्राप्तम्’ (attained)

• लिङ्गम्: the liṅga (sign/emblem)
• लिङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• तस्मात्: therefore/from that
• तस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचनम्

• विदुः: know
• विदुः: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्

• बुधाः: the wise
• बुधाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from immediate continuation where Mahādeva addresses Devī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast, aniconic Liṅga at the center of the cosmos; worlds, gods, and beings stream inward like rivers into an ocean, dissolving into a single luminous axis; Brahmā above, grass below, all merging.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Liṅga
• Pralaya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Liṅga signifies the single, ultimate reality into which all multiplicity resolves—supporting reverence and inner unity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within Revā-kṣetra narration, the verse undergirds the sanctity of Liṅga-sthānas along the Revā (Narmadā).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not explicit; it implicitly validates Liṅga-pūjā as worship of the supreme, all-absorbing principle.