Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

गिरि श्चतुरशीत्यायं योजनानां हि विस्मृतः । सर्वलिंगमयो यस्मादतः कुर्यात्प्रदक्षिणम्

Transliteration

giri ścaturaśītyāyaṃ yojanānāṃ hi vismṛtaḥ | sarvaliṃgamayo yasmādataḥ kuryātpradakṣiṇam

Translation

ഈ പർവ്വതം എൺപത്തിനാലു യോജന വ്യാപ്തിയുള്ളത്—അത്രയും വിശാലം, വിവരണാതീതം. ഇത് സർവത്ര ലിംഗമയമായതിനാൽ, ഇതിന് പ്രദക്ഷിണം ചെയ്യണം.

Word by Word

• giriḥ: the mountain
• giriḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: giri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• caturaśīti: eighty-four
• caturaśīti: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catur (प्रातिपदिक) + aśīti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (संख्यावाचक), प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समासः (84)

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; निर्देशार्थक (this)

• yojanānām: of yojanas (measures)
• yojanānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेतौ/निश्चयार्थक (indeed/for)

• vismṛtaḥ: is renowned/celebrated (lit. remembered widely)
• vismṛtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-smṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘विस्मृत’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (गिरि-विशेषण)

• sarva-liṅga-mayaḥ: consisting of all (Śiva-)liṅgas
• sarva-liṅga-mayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष ‘सर्वलिङ्गैः मयः/पूर्णः’ (consisting of all liṅgas)

• yasmāt: because (of which)
• yasmāt: Apadana (Cause/अपादान-हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे ‘because/from which’

• ataḥ: therefore
• ataḥ: Sambandha (Inference/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्-अर्थे (therefore)

• kuryāt: should perform
• kuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातु—कृ ‘to do/should do’

• pradakṣiṇam: circumambulation
• pradakṣiṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्म (object)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; speaker not explicit)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śrīśaila-giri

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sweeping panorama of Śrīśaila’s long ridgelines; countless small liṅgas appear as natural rock-forms; pilgrims trace a circumambulatory path around the mountain, turning geography into ritual.

Characters & Entities

• Śrīśaila
• Liṅga (Śiva-symbol)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A sacred landscape is treated as Śiva’s embodied presence; honoring it physically through circumambulation is a form of worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śrīśaila, described as vast and filled with Śiva-liṅga presence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pradakṣiṇā (circumambulation) of the mountain.