Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्यस्य उवाच । ततः कटेश्वरं गच्छेल्लिंगं गौरीविनिर्मितम् । तथा गंगेश्वरं चान्यद्गङ्गया निर्मितं स्वयम्

Transliteration

pulastyasya uvāca | tataḥ kaṭeśvaraṃ gacchelliṃgaṃ gaurīvinirmitam | tathā gaṃgeśvaraṃ cānyadgaṅgayā nirmitaṃ svayam

Translation

പുലസ്ത്യൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അതിനുശേഷം കടേശ്വരത്തിലേക്കു പോകണം; അത് ഗൗരീ നിർമ്മിച്ച ലിംഗമാണ്. അതുപോലെ മറ്റൊരു ഗംഗേശ്വരവും ഉണ്ട്; അത് ഗംഗ സ്വയം നിർമ്മിച്ചതാണ്.

Word by Word

• pulastyasya: of Pulastya
• pulastyasya: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/ततः = thereafter)

• kaṭeśvaram: Kaṭeśvara (name of Śiva)
• kaṭeśvaram: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṭa-īśvara (प्रातिपदिक; कट + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधि), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• liṅgam: liṅga
• liṅgam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (apposition to kaṭeśvaram)

• gaurīvinirmitam: made by Gaurī
• gaurīvinirmitam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gaurī-vinir-mita (कृदन्त; गौरि + वि-निर्मित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) from √mā (मा/मि—‘to measure/make’) with prefixes vi+nir; विशेषण (qualifying liṅgam)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/‘likewise’)

• gaṃgeśvaram: Gaṅgeśvara
• gaṃgeśvaram: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṃgā-īśvara (प्रातिपदिक; गङ्गा + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

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

• anyat: another
• anyat: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying liṅgam understood)

• gaṅgayā: by Gaṅgā
• gaṅgayā: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण/कर्तृ-हेतु (agent in passive sense)

• nirmitam: made/constructed
• nirmitam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-mita (कृदन्त; नि- + मित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) from √mā (मा) with prefix nir; विशेषण

• svayam: by herself
• svayam: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphatic adverb/स्वयम्)

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kaṭeśvara; Gaṅgeśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (unnamed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pulastya directs the king onward: first to Kaṭeśvara, a liṅga made by Gaurī, then to Gaṅgeśvara, another liṅga fashioned by Gaṅgā herself; the scene suggests a pilgrim moving from shrine to shrine in Arbuda hills.

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Kaṭeśvara
• Gaṅgeśvara
• Gaurī (Pārvatī)
• Gaṅgā
• Śiva-liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sites are sanctified by divine establishment; visiting them is upheld as a dharmic act of pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kaṭeśvara and Gaṅgeśvara—two liṅga sites within the Arbuda sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prescription of pilgrimage: “one should go” (gacchet) to these liṅgas for worship and merit.