Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

वागुवाच । कोटीश्वराख्यं मे लिंगं लोके ख्यातिं गमिष्यति । माघकृष्णचतुर्द्दश्यां यश्चैनं पूजयिष्यति

Transliteration

vāguvāca | koṭīśvarākhyaṃ me liṃgaṃ loke khyātiṃ gamiṣyati | māghakṛṣṇacaturddaśyāṃ yaścainaṃ pūjayiṣyati

Translation

വാണി പറഞ്ഞു—‘എന്റെ ലിംഗം “കോടീശ്വര” എന്ന നാമത്തിൽ ലോകത്തിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധിയിലേക്കു പോകും. മാഘമാസത്തിലെ കൃഷ്ണപക്ഷ ചതുര്ദശിയിൽ ഇതിനെ പൂജിക്കുന്നവൻ…’

Word by Word

• vāk: the voice
• vāk: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāc (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• koṭīśvarākhyam: named ‘Koṭīśvara’
• koṭīśvarākhyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: koṭīśvara + ākhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (named Koṭīśvara)

• me: my
• me: Shashthi-sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• liṅgam: liṅga
• liṅgam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (subject of gamiṣyati)

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• khyātim: fame
• khyātim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khyāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• gamiṣyati: will attain
• gamiṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• māgha-kṛṣṇa-caturdaśyām: on the fourteenth (tithi) of the dark fortnight of Māgha
• māgha-kṛṣṇa-caturdaśyām: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māgha + kṛṣṇa + caturdaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास (मास- पक्ष- तिथि-निर्देश), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yaḥ: whoever
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• enam: this (it)
• enam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (referring to liṅga)

• pūjayiṣyati: will worship
• pūjayiṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pūj (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Aśarīriṇī vāṇī (bodiless voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Koṭīśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (addressed); Vasudhādhipa hears via Pulastya’s narration

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant, newly emerged liṅga stands against the split mountain; above, a luminous presence ‘speaks’ the name Koṭīśvara; devotees/sages prepare offerings as the calendar-marking tithi is implied by a moon motif (dark fortnight, 14th).

Characters & Entities

• Koṭīśvara
• Śiva-liṅga
• Māgha kṛṣṇa caturdaśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sites and icons become ‘famous’ because they reliably grant merit when worship is performed with proper timing and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Koṭīśvara-liṅga in the Arbuda region (as presented in the Arbuda Khaṇḍa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-pūjā specifically on Māgha kṛṣṇa caturdaśī (the 14th tithi of Māgha’s dark fortnight).