Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

गुहेन च महालिंगं कुमारेश्वरमीश्वरम् । संस्थाप्य तीर्थमुख्यत्वं मम दत्तं महात्मना

Transliteration

guhena ca mahāliṃgaṃ kumāreśvaramīśvaram | saṃsthāpya tīrthamukhyatvaṃ mama dattaṃ mahātmanā

Translation

കൂടാതെ ഗുഹൻ (സ്കന്ദൻ) മഹാലിംഗമായ കുമാരേശ്വരനായ ഈശ്വരനെ സ്ഥാപിച്ചു; സ്ഥാപിച്ച ശേഷം ആ മഹാത്മാവ് എനിക്ക് തീർത്ഥങ്ങളിൽ മുഖ്യസ്ഥാനമൊരുക്കി നൽകി.

Word by Word

• गुहेन: by Guha (Kārttikeya)
• गुहेन: Karta (Agent in absolutive clause/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• महा-लिङ्गम्: the great liṅga
• महा-लिङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय ('great liṅga')

• कुमारेश्वरम्: Kumāreśvara
• कुमारेश्वरम्: Karma (Object apposition/कर्म-समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुमार + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ('Lord of Kumāra')

• ईश्वरम्: the Lord
• ईश्वरम्: Karma (Object apposition/कर्म-समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• संस्थाप्य: having established
• संस्थाप्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम् + स्थाप् (धातु) + ल्यप् (अव्ययकृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund): 'having established'

• तीर्थ-मुख्यत्वम्: chief status among tīrthas
• तीर्थ-मुख्यत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ + मुख्यत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष ('status of being chief among tīrthas')

• मम: to me/of me
• मम: Sampradana/Sambandha (Beneficiary/Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• दत्तम्: was given
• दत्तम्: Kriya (Passive predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दा (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; here agreeing with 'तीर्थमुख्यत्वम्' (object)

• महात्मना: by the great-souled one
• महात्मना: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक: महात्मन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय ('great-souled one')

Speaker

Tīrtharāja (Mahīsāgara-saṅgama personified)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kumāreśvara (at Mahī–Sāgara-saṅgama)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Guha/Skanda, radiant and youthful, performs liṅga-pratiṣṭhā of a towering Mahā-liṅga named Kumāreśvara at the confluence; devas shower flowers; the river and ocean deities witness as the tīrtha is crowned ‘foremost’.

Characters & Entities

• Guha (Skanda/Kumāra)
• Kumāreśvara (Śiva-liṅga)
• Mahāliṅga
• Mahīsāgara-saṅgama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s greatness is sealed by divine consecration—Skanda’s स्थापना of a Śiva-liṅga becomes the basis for the site’s supremacy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mahīsāgara-saṅgama, linked to the installed Kumāreśvara liṅga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-pratiṣṭhā (establishing a Śiva-liṅga) is referenced as the sanctifying act behind the tīrtha’s rank.