Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

अष्टादशसहस्राणि मुनीनामूर्ध्वरेतसाम् । स्थितानि न तु पश्यंति लिंगमेतदनुत्तमम्

Transliteration

aṣṭādaśasahasrāṇi munīnāmūrdhvaretasām | sthitāni na tu paśyaṃti liṃgametadanuttamam

Translation

ഊർദ്ധ്വരേതസ്സുകളായ, ബ്രഹ്മചര്യനിഷ്ഠരായ പതിനെട്ടായിരം മുനികൾ അവിടെ നിന്നിട്ടും, ഈ അനുത്തമ ലിംഗം അവർക്ക് കാണാനായില്ല.

Word by Word

• aṣṭādaśa-sahasrāṇi: eighteen thousand
• aṣṭādaśa-sahasrāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭādaśa (संख्या) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन; द्विगुसमासः (संख्यापूर्वकः)

• munīnām: of sages
• munīnām: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• ūrdhva-retasām: of those with upward-flowing semen (celibate ascetics)
• ūrdhva-retasām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक) + retas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः/कर्मधारयप्रायः (ऊर्ध्वं रेतः येषाम्)

• sthitāni: standing, remaining
• sthitāni: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (धाातु) → sthita (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन; (स्थित = standing/remaining)

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• tu: but
• tu: Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/विरोध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक (but/indeed)

• paśyanti: they see
• paśyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• liṅgam: the liṅga (emblem)
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• etat: this
• etat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• anuttamam: unsurpassed, supreme
• anuttamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anuttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; अतिशयार्थक (unsurpassed)

Speaker

Śiva (Mahēśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mūlacaṇḍīśa-liṅga (concealed)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast assembly of eighteen thousand celibate sages stands in disciplined rows around a shrine, but the liṅga is unseen—veiled by an invisible or thunderbolt-like covering—creating a poignant scene of yearning.

Characters & Entities

• Munis
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Great discipline alone may not yield vision when divine concealment intervenes; grace and rightful unfolding matter.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the ‘anuttama’ Liṅga is central to the site’s extraordinary sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse highlights the limitation of mere presence without successful darśana.