Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

एतल्लिंगं महादेवि चतुर्वक्त्रं महाप्रभम् । दृष्ट्वापि तद्विमुच्येत सर्वपापैस्तु मानवः

Transliteration

etalliṃgaṃ mahādevi caturvaktraṃ mahāprabham | dṛṣṭvāpi tadvimucyeta sarvapāpaistu mānavaḥ

Translation

ഹേ മഹാദേവീ! ഇത് മഹാപ്രഭയുള്ള ചതുര്മുഖ ലിംഗമാണ്; ഇതിന്റെ ദർശനമാത്രം കൊണ്ടുതന്നെ മനുഷ്യൻ സർവ്വപാപങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നു വിമുക്തനാകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; (liṅgam इति विशेष्येण सह)

• liṅgam: liṅga; emblem (of Śiva)
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambandha (Address/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• catur-vaktram: four-faced
• catur-vaktram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + vaktra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (liṅgam इति विशेष्येण सह)

• mahā-prabham: greatly radiant
• mahā-prabham: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + prabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (liṅgam इति विशेष्येण सह)

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Sambandha (Prior action/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive): 'having seen'

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारार्थक-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• tat: that (liṅga)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• vimucyeta: would be freed
• vimucyeta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-muc (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थः (passive sense: 'would be released')

• sarva-pāpaiḥ: from all sins
• sarva-pāpaiḥ: Apadana (Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; (वियोग/अपादानार्थेऽपि तृतीया)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• mānavaḥ: a man; human
• mānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Caturvaktra-liṅga (within Prabhāsa-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Mahādevī/Umā)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant four-faced liṅga (caturvaktra) stands on a pedestal, emitting a soft halo; a devotee stands with folded hands, while the Devī is addressed as witness to the promise of sin-release.

Characters & Entities

• liṅga
• caturvaktra (four-faced)
• Mahādeva (implied)
• pāpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana (sacred seeing) is treated as a powerful act of grace: contact with a holy form can purify even without elaborate rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The four-faced (caturvaktra) liṅga of Mahādeva/Bhairaveśvara established near Brahmakuṇḍa in Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana: simply beholding the liṅga is stated to remove sins; it complements the earlier snāna and pūjā.