Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

शशिनाभूषितो यस्मात्तेनाहं शशिभूषणः । तत्र स्थाने स्थितोऽद्यापि स्वयंभूर्लिंगमूर्त्तिमान्

Transliteration

śaśinābhūṣito yasmāttenāhaṃ śaśibhūṣaṇaḥ | tatra sthāne sthito'dyāpi svayaṃbhūrliṃgamūrttimān

Translation

ഞാൻ ശശി (ചന്ദ്രൻ) കൊണ്ട് അലങ്കരിക്കപ്പെട്ടതിനാൽ ‘ശശിഭൂഷണൻ’ എന്നറിയപ്പെടുന്നു. ആ സ്ഥാനത്തുതന്നെ ഞാൻ ഇന്നും സ്വയംഭൂവായി ലിംഗമൂർത്തിയായി നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു.

Word by Word

• śaśinā: by/with the moon
• śaśinā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaśin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Tṛtīyā-vibhakti (Instrumental/3rd), Ekavacana (Singular)

• abhūṣitaḥ: adorned
• abhūṣitaḥ: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमनाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhūṣ (धातु) + a- (उपसर्ग) + -ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta (Past Passive Participle/क्त), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana; agrees with implied subject (aham)

• yasmāt: because/from which
• yasmāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (Pronoun), Puṃliṅga, Pañcamī-vibhakti (Ablative/5th), Ekavacana

• tena: therefore/by that
• tena: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (Pronoun), Puṃliṅga/napuṃsaka usage, Tṛtīyā-vibhakti (Instrumental/3rd), Ekavacana

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (Pronoun), Prathamā-vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana

• śaśibhūṣaṇaḥ: (one who is) the moon-ornamented / having the moon as ornament
• śaśibhūṣaṇaḥ: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate noun/कर्तृसमनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaśi (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa (ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa: śaśeḥ bhūṣaṇam), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Adverb of place/देशवाचक अव्यय)

• sthāne: in the place
• sthāne: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (Neuter), Saptamī-vibhakti (Locative/7th), Ekavacana

• sthitaḥ: standing/abiding
• sthitaḥ: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमनाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (धातु) + -ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta (Past Passive Participle/क्त), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; agrees with svayaṃbhūḥ

• adya: today/now
• adya: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal setting/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Adverb of time/कालवाचक अव्यय)

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)

• svayaṃbhūḥ: the self-born (Lord)
• svayaṃbhūḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svayaṃbhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• liṅgamūrttimān: having the form of a liṅga
• liṅgamūrttimān: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + mūrti (प्रातिपदिक) + -mat (मतुप् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa (liṅgasya mūrtiḥ), Matup-anta adjective (-mān), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; qualifies svayaṃbhūḥ

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Somnātha (Svayambhū Liṅga) at Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva, crowned with the crescent moon, indicates the self-manifest liṅga at Prabhāsa; the liṅga radiates subtle light, suggesting svayambhū emergence from the earth/stone.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Śaśibhūṣaṇa)
• Śaśin (Moon)
• Svayaṃbhū Liṅga
• Prabhāsa (implied ‘that place’)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine is approachable through sacred form: Śiva’s cosmic identity is accessible at a concrete tīrtha as a self-manifest liṅga.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra is indicated as the ‘place’ where Śiva abides as a svayaṃbhū liṅga, central to the Prabhāsa māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, liṅga-darśana and liṅga-pūjā are supported by the statement of Śiva’s abiding presence, though no procedure is detailed.