Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

तल्लिंगमिति जानीहि प्रभासे सुरसुंदरि । निरावकाशरहितं शब्दं शब्दांतगोचरम्

Transliteration

talliṃgamiti jānīhi prabhāse surasuṃdari | nirāvakāśarahitaṃ śabdaṃ śabdāṃtagocaram

Translation

ഹേ സുരസുന്ദരി, പ്രഭാസത്തിൽ അതെയേ ‘ലിംഗം’ എന്നു അറിയുക—അത് അവകാശവിസ്താരരഹിതം; എങ്കിലും ശബ്ദത്തിന്റെ അന്തർനിഹിതാർത്ഥരൂപമായി, ശബ്ദാന്തംവരെ ഗോചരമാകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• लिङ्गम्: mark; liṅga (symbol)
• लिङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation-marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-प्रयोगः (quotative particle)

• जानीहि: know; understand
• जानीहि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम

• प्रभासे: in Prabhāsa
• प्रभासे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• सुरसुन्दरि: O beautiful one among the gods
• सुरसुन्दरि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर (प्रातिपदिक) + सुन्दरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (सुरेषु सुन्दरी)

• निरावकाशरहितम्: devoid of any space/gap
• निरावकाशरहितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् (उपसर्ग) + अवकाश (प्रातिपदिक) + रहित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अवकाशेन रहितम्) उपसर्ग-पूर्वपद (निर्-)

• शब्दम्: sound; word
• शब्दम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शब्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• शब्दान्तगोचरम्: within the reach of the end of sound (i.e., beyond words)
• शब्दान्तगोचरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शब्द (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक) + गोचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (शब्दस्य अन्तः) + तत्पुरुषः (अन्तस्य गोचरः)

Speaker

Deductive: a teacher addressing 'surasundarī' (a divine female interlocutor) in Prabhāsa-māhātmya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-liṅga

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Surasundarī (addressed as ‘sur-sundarī’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A goddess-like celestial listener (‘surasundarī’) is addressed; the liṅga appears as a luminous void-point, while mantra syllables dissolve into a subtle radiance—sound becoming silence.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Liṅga signifies the formless absolute—beyond spatial limitation and beyond ordinary speech—known at the threshold where words fall silent.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa kṣetra explicitly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it gives a meditative definition of the Prabhāsa Liṅga as transcending space and speech.