Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

आरण्याच्छतगुणं पुण्यमर्चितं पार्वतं यथा । पार्वताच्चैव लिंगाच्च फलं चायुतसंज्ञितम् । तपोवनाश्रितं लिंगं पूजितं वा महाफलम्

Transliteration

āraṇyācchataguṇaṃ puṇyamarcitaṃ pārvataṃ yathā | pārvatāccaiva liṃgācca phalaṃ cāyutasaṃjñitam | tapovanāśritaṃ liṃgaṃ pūjitaṃ vā mahāphalam

Translation

അരണ്യലിംഗത്തേക്കാൾ പർവ്വതലിംഗത്തെ അർച്ചിക്കുന്നത് ശതഗുണ പുണ്യമെന്ന് പറയപ്പെടുന്നു; പർവ്വതലിംഗത്തേക്കാൾ ഉന്നതമായ ലിംഗത്തിന് ഫലം ‘അയുത’ (പതിനായിരം മടങ്ങ്) എന്നു പ്രഖ്യാപിക്കുന്നു. തപോവനാശ്രിത ലിംഗം പൂജിക്കുമ്പോൾ മഹാഫലം ലഭിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• आरण्यात्: than the forest
• आरण्यात्: Apādāna (Source/Comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आरण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी, एकवचन; अपादान (comparison/source)

• शत-गुणम्: hundredfold
• शत-गुणम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक) + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (to पुण्यम्)

• पुण्यम्: merit
• पुण्यम्: Karta (Predicate/topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय

• अर्चितम्: worshipped
• अर्चितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अर्च् (धातु); कृदन्त: अर्चित (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• पार्वतम्: mountain(-related)
• पार्वतम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पार्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (implicit: पुण्यम्/फलम्)

• यथा: as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparison)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/प्रकारवाचक (as/just as)

• पार्वतात्: than the mountain
• पार्वतात्: Apādāna (Source/Comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी, एकवचन; अपादान (comparison/source)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic: indeed/only)

• लिङ्गात्: than the liṅga (there)
• लिङ्गात्: Apādāna (Source/Comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी, एकवचन; अपादान (comparison/source)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• फलम्: fruit, result
• फलम्: Karta (Predicate/topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• आयुत-संज्ञितम्: called ‘āyuta’ (ten-thousandfold)
• आयुत-संज्ञितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आयुत (प्रातिपदिक) + संज्ञित (संज्ञा-धातु √ज्ञा/√ज्ञा?; here संज्ञित as क्त from सम्+√ज्ञा in sense 'named')
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (to फलम्)

• तपोवन-आश्रितम्: residing in/associated with a penance-grove
• तपोवन-आश्रितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक) + वन (प्रातिपदिक) + आश्रित (क्त from आ+√श्रि)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (locative sense: tapovana-āśrita); क्त-कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (to लिङ्गम्)

• लिङ्गम्: the liṅga
• लिङ्गम्: Karta (Subject/topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृ/विषय

• पूजितम्: worshipped
• पूजितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूज् (धातु); कृदन्त: पूजित (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Disjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक

• महा-फलम्: great fruit (great result)
• महा-फलम्: Karta (Predicate/topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Parvata-liṅga / Tapovana-liṅga (typological)

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A steep mountain shrine with a liṅga on a rocky outcrop; clouds below, peaks above; sages in a tapovana with deer and sacred fire; symbolic ‘10,000’ shown as a radiant mandala of countless petals or lamps around the liṅga.

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga
• Pārvata (mountain)
• Tapovana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The purāṇa ranks sacred landscapes by tapas-density: forests, mountains, and especially tapovanas magnify the fruit of Śiva worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Tapovana- and mountain-based liṅga-sthānas associated with Kedāra’s Himalayan sacred zone are extolled.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship liṅgas in increasingly austere locales—forest, mountain, and tapovana—to obtain multiplied merit and ‘ayuta’ (ten-thousandfold) fruit.