Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 160

Devanagari script

तदुत्तरे मतंगेशो गानविद्याप्रबोधकः । मतंगेशस्य वायव्ये नानालिंगानि सर्वतः

Transliteration

taduttare mataṃgeśo gānavidyāprabodhakaḥ | mataṃgeśasya vāyavye nānāliṃgāni sarvataḥ

Translation

അതിന്റെ വടക്കായി മതംഗേശൻ ഉണ്ട്; അവൻ ഗാനവിദ്യയെ ഉണർത്തുന്നവൻ. മതംഗേശന്റെ വായവ്യ (വടക്കുപടിഞ്ഞാറ്) ദിശയിൽ എല്ലാടവും പല ലിംഗങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ട്.

Word by Word

• tat: of that; its
• tat: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (genitive singular)

• uttare: to the north; in the northern (side)
• uttare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (neuter locative singular)

• mataṃgeśaḥ: Mataṅgeśa
• mataṃgeśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mataṃga (प्रातिपदिक) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (masc nom sg)

• gānavidyāprabodhakaḥ: awakener/teacher of the knowledge of music
• gānavidyāprabodhakaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gāna (प्रातिपदिक) + vidyā (प्रातिपदिक) + prabodhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘गान-विद्या-प्रबोधक’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण (masc nom sg)

• mataṃgeśasya: of Mataṅgeśa
• mataṃgeśasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mataṃgeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन (masc gen sg)

• vāyavye: in the northwest
• vāyavye: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyavya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (neuter locative singular)

• nānāliṃgāni: various liṅgas
• nānāliṃgāni: Karta/Pradhāna (Subject/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nānā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘नाना-लिङ्ग’ = various liṅgas); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन (neuter nom/acc pl)

• sarvataḥ: everywhere; on all sides
• sarvataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvatas (अव्यय)
• Form: तस्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय; सर्वदिक्/सर्वतः (adverb: on all sides)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mataṅgeśa and the northwest liṅga-cluster

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-seeker interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Mataṅgeśa shrine, a devotee-musician offers a raga before the liṅga; nearby, in the northwest quarter, numerous small liṅgas appear like a sacred grove of stones, each with flowers and ash markings.

Characters & Entities

• Mataṅgeśa
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kāśī, devotion is linked with refinement of inner faculties; Śiva’s shrines are celebrated as sources of vidyā, including the arts.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mataṅgeśa liṅga, noted for awakening gāna-vidyā, and the surrounding cluster of many liṅgas to the northwest.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse highlights the spiritual fruit associated with approaching Mataṅgeśa and the surrounding liṅgas.