Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

ततो वर्षसहस्रांते परमे संव्यवस्थिते । प्रभिद्य मेदिनीपृष्ठं निष्क्रांतं लिंगमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

tato varṣasahasrāṃte parame saṃvyavasthite | prabhidya medinīpṛṣṭhaṃ niṣkrāṃtaṃ liṃgamuttamam

Translation

പിന്നീട് ആയിരം വർഷങ്ങളുടെ അവസാനം, തപസ്സ് പരമസിദ്ധിയിലേക്കെത്തിയപ്പോൾ, ഭൂമിയുടെ ഉപരിതലം ഭേദിച്ച് ഒരു ഉത്തമ ലിംഗം പുറത്ത് പ്രത്യക്ഷപ്പെട്ടു.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रमवाचक (then)

• varṣa-sahasra-ante: at the end of a thousand years
• varṣa-sahasra-ante: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/when)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (वर्ष) + sahasra (सहस्र) + anta (अन्त प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (वर्षसहस्रस्य अन्ते)

• parame: in the highest (state)
• parame: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of saṃvyavasthite)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (परम प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषण (in the supreme/utmost)

• saṃvyavasthite: when (he was) firmly established
• saṃvyavasthite: Adhikaraṇa (Locative absolute)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ-vi-ava-sthā (संव्यवस्था धातु-समूह; स्था धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; सप्तमी, एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• prabhidya: having pierced/split
• prabhidya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-bhid (प्रभिद्/भिद् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive); पूर्वकाले कृत्य

• medinī-pṛṣṭham: the surface of the earth
• medinī-pṛṣṭham: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: medinī (मेदिनी) + pṛṣṭha (पृष्ठ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (मेदिन्याः पृष्ठम्)

• niṣkrāntam: having emerged, come out
• niṣkrāntam: Kriyā (Predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nis-krām (निष्क्राम्; क्रम् धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (liṅgam इति सह)

• liṅgam: the liṅga (emblem)
• liṅgam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (लिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• uttamam: excellent, supreme
• uttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (उत्तम प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (liṅgam)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; speaker not explicit in verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The ground cracks open at the end of a millennium of tapas; from the fissure rises a pristine, radiant liṅga, dust and light swirling; the sage stands or kneels in astonished devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva-liṅga
• Hāṭakeśvara (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sustained tapas culminates in tangible divine revelation, linking inner discipline with sacred place-manifestation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse describes the manifestation of the liṅga associated with Hāṭakeśvara, establishing the sanctity of that locale.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new rite is prescribed; the verse presents the fruit (phala) of prolonged austerity—Śiva-liṅga manifestation.