Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि अघोरेश्वरमुत्तमम् । षष्ठं लिंगं समाख्यातं तद्वक्त्रं भैरवं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi aghoreśvaramuttamam | ṣaṣṭhaṃ liṃgaṃ samākhyātaṃ tadvaktraṃ bhairavaṃ smṛtam

Translation

ഈശ്വരൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—ഹേ മഹാദേവി! തുടർന്ന് ഉത്തമമായ അഘോരേശ്വരത്തിലേക്ക് പോകണം. അത് ആറാമത്തെ ലിംഗമായി പ്രസിദ്ധം; അതിന്റെ ദിവ്യ ‘വക്ത്രം’ ഭൈരവം എന്നു സ്മരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു।

Word by Word

• ईश्वरः: Īśvara (Lord Śiva)
• ईश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्यय-प्रकारः—सम्बन्ध/अनन्तर्ये (adverb: then/thereafter)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• महादेवि: O Mahādevī
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• अघोरेश्वरम्: Aghoreśvara
• अघोरेश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अघोर + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• उत्तमम्: supreme, excellent
• उत्तमम्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषणम् (qualifier)

• षष्ठम्: sixth
• षष्ठम्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (ordinal)

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga (emblem)
• लिङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• समाख्यातम्: is declared/called
• समाख्यातम्: Karma-samānādhikaraṇa (Object-complement/कर्मसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-ख्या (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• वक्त्रम्: face, mouth
• वक्त्रम्: Karma-samānādhikaraṇa (Object-complement/कर्मसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• भैरवम्: Bhairava (terrible)
• भैरवम्: Karma-samānādhikaraṇa (Object-complement/कर्मसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भैरव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषणम्

• स्मृतम्: is remembered/considered
• स्मृतम्: Karma-samānādhikaraṇa (Object-complement/कर्मसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aghoreśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva instructs Devī to proceed to Aghoreśvara; the shrine is darker, guarded, with Bhairava symbolism—trident, skull-cup motifs—yet the liṅga remains serene at the center, signifying Aghora’s ‘non-terrifying’ essence beneath Bhairava’s form.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
• Aghoreśvara
• Bhairava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is framed as a guided encounter with specific Śiva-manifestations, each with a distinct sacred aspect.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Aghoreśvara-liṅga within the Prabhāsakṣetra sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is to visit (gacchet) Aghoreśvara as part of the ordered liṅga-darśana/pilgrimage sequence.