Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

कृतस्मरस्यापरतो धन्वंतरशतत्रये । लिंगं महाप्रभावं च स्वयंभूतं व्यवस्थितम्

Transliteration

kṛtasmarasyāparato dhanvaṃtaraśatatraye | liṃgaṃ mahāprabhāvaṃ ca svayaṃbhūtaṃ vyavasthitam

Translation

കൃതസ്മരത്തിനു അപ്പുറം, മൂന്നു നൂറ് ധന്വന്തര ദൂരത്ത്, മഹാപ്രഭാവമുള്ള സ്വയംഭൂ ലിംഗം അവിടെ സ്ഥാപിതമായി നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു।

Word by Word

• कृतस्मरस्य: of Kṛtasmar(a) (a named place/being)
• कृतस्मरस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत (कृ धातु, क्त) + स्मर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; ‘कृतः स्मरः येन’ इति (name/epithet: Kṛtasmar(a))

• अपरतः: beyond, to the further side
• अपरतः: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Spatial adjunct)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपरतः (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (spatial adverb: on the farther side/after)

• धन्वन्तर-शत-त्रये: at (a distance of) three hundred dhanvantaras
• धन्वन्तर-शत-त्रये: Adhikaraṇa (Measure/location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन्वन्तर (प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक) + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः—‘धन्वन्तराणां शतानां त्रये’ (in a distance of three hundred dhanvantaras)

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga (Śiva-emblem)
• लिङ्गम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (here: प्रथमा as subject)

• महाप्रभावम्: of great power
• महाप्रभावम्: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (to लिङ्गम्)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• स्वयंभूतम्: self-manifested
• स्वयंभूतम्: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय) + भूत (भू धातु, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (to लिङ्गम्)

• व्यवस्थितम्: established, situated
• व्यवस्थितम्: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate/qualifier of subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + अव + स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘स्थितम्’ अर्थे (standing/established)

Speaker

Dakṣa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sparśa-liṅga (introduced by description; named explicitly next verses)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Soma

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A small yet radiant liṅga stands in the earth, hinted at from afar as Soma and Dakṣa traverse dunes and scrub; a sense of discovery builds as the svayaṃbhū presence is revealed.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛtasmarā (place/mountain)
• Svayaṃbhū Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A svayaṃbhū (self-manifest) liṅga is presented as inherently powerful, making the pilgrimage landscape itself a revelation of Śiva.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A self-manifest Liṅga located beyond Kṛtasmarā within the Prabhāsa-kṣetra sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse functions as a tīrtha locator and praise of the liṅga’s potency.