Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

षष्टिवर्षसहस्राणि तपस्तेपुर्महर्षयः । ध्यायमाना महेशानमनादिनिधनं परम्

Transliteration

ṣaṣṭivarṣasahasrāṇi tapastepurmaharṣayaḥ | dhyāyamānā maheśānamanādinidhanaṃ param

Translation

അറുപതിനായിരം വർഷം മഹർഷിമാർ തപസ്സനുഷ്ഠിച്ചു; ആദിയും അന്തവും ഇല്ലാത്ത പരമേശ്വരനായ മഹേശാനനെ ധ്യാനിച്ചുകൊണ്ട്।

Word by Word

• षष्टिवर्षसहस्राणि: sixty thousand years
• षष्टिवर्षसहस्राणि: कालाधिकरण/अत्यन्तसंयोग (Duration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्टि + वर्ष + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; षष्टेः वर्षाणां सहस्राणि इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (accusative of duration)

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मरूपेण (austerity as object)

• तेपुः: performed (austerities)
• तेपुः: क्रिया (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• महर्षयः: great sages
• महर्षयः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महर्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; महान्तः ऋषयः इति कर्मधारयः

• ध्यायमानाः: meditating
• ध्यायमानाः: कर्ता (Participial predicate of subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु) → ध्यायमान (कृदन्त)
• Form: शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्तः (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्तरि: "meditating"

• महेशानम्: Maheśāna (Śiva)
• महेशानम्: कर्म (Object of meditation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; महा + ईशान इति कर्मधारयः

• अनादिनिधनम्: beginningless and endless
• अनादिनिधनम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनादि + निधन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; न आदि: यस्य / न निधनम् यस्य इति नञ्-तत्पुरुषः; महेशानम् इति पदस्य विशेषणम्

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; महेशानम् इति पदस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (Mahodaya/Unnata zone)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast timescale is suggested: generations of sages in the same sacred grove, unmoving in meditation, with Maheśāna’s formless infinity hinted by a luminous void or endless pillar of light behind a liṅga.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Pārvatī
• Maharṣis
• Maheśāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sustained tapas and dhyāna on the eternal Lord is the model of purification and the foundation of a tīrtha’s spiritual power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Mahodaya/Unnata narrative-space in Prabhāsa-kṣetra, sanctified by extended sage-austerities.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) and dhyāna (meditation) are highlighted as the principal disciplines.