Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महालिंगं महादेवि सुरप्रियम् । रावणेश्वरवायव्ये धनुषां त्रिंशकेऽन्तरे

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahāliṃgaṃ mahādevi surapriyam | rāvaṇeśvaravāyavye dhanuṣāṃ triṃśake'ntare

Translation

ഈശ്വരൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—അതിനുശേഷം, ഹേ മഹാദേവി, ദേവന്മാർക്ക് പ്രിയമായ മഹാലിംഗത്തിലേക്ക് പോകണം; അത് രാവണേശ്വരത്തിന്റെ വായവ്യ (വടക്കുപടിഞ്ഞാറ്) ദിശയിൽ മുപ്പത് ധനുസ്സിന്റെ അകലെയുണ്ട്.

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (Lord Śiva)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Avyaya (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: thereafter/from there)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; injunctive sense: 'should go'

• mahā-liṅgam: the great liṅga
• mahā-liṅgam: Karma (Object/Goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

• mahā-devi: O great goddess
• mahā-devi: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचन

• sura-priyam: beloved of the gods
• sura-priyam: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सुराणां प्रियः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; qualifying mahāliṅgam

• rāvaṇa-īśvara-vāyavye: in the Vāyavya (northwest) area of Rāvaṇeśvara
• rāvaṇa-īśvara-vāyavye: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + vāyavya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; place-locative (in the vāyavya part/quarter of Rāvaṇeśvara)

• dhanuṣām: of bows (as a measure)
• dhanuṣām: Sambandha (Measure/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanuṣ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचन; measure-expression (of bows)

• triṃśake: in/within thirty
• triṃśake: Adhikarana (Location/Measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: triṃśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; locative in a measure phrase

• antare: within, in between
• antare: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; locative (within/between)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahāliṅga

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva instructs Devī on a pilgrimage route; a stylized map-like background shows Rāvaṇeśvara shrine and, to its northwest, the Mahāliṅga; devotees walking with water-pots and flowers.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī
• Rāvaṇeśvara
• Mahāliṅga
• Suras (Devas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is presented as disciplined sacred movement—seeking Śiva’s liṅgas in a sanctified landscape to gain divine favor.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, pointing to a Mahāliṅga shrine located near Rāvaṇeśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A yātrā-instruction: “one should go” to the specified liṅga; no separate dāna/snān/japa is stated in this verse.