Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

अग्निना यत्र तप्तं तु दिव्याब्दानां चतुर्युगम् । मेघवाहनकल्पे तु तत्र लिंगं बभूव ह

Transliteration

agninā yatra taptaṃ tu divyābdānāṃ caturyugam | meghavāhanakalpe tu tatra liṃgaṃ babhūva ha

Translation

जिथे दिव्य वर्षांच्या चार युगांपर्यंत अग्नीने दग्ध केले, तेथेच मेघवाहन कल्पात लिंग प्रकट झाले.

Word by Word

• अग्निना: by fire
• अग्निना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental), एकवचनम्

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location marker/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• तप्तम्: was heated/burnt
• तप्तम्: Karma (Implied object state/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; कर्मणि-भावः (burnt/heated)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः

• दिव्याब्दानाम्: of divine years
• दिव्याब्दानाम्: Sambandha (Measure/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिव्य + अब्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive), बहुवचनम्; 'दिव्याः अब्दाः'

• चतुर्युगम्: a four-yuga period
• चतुर्युगम्: Karma (Extent/measure as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् + युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्; द्विगु-समासः (a period of four yugas)

• मेघवाहनकल्पे: in the Meghavāhana kalpa
• मेघवाहनकल्पे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेघवाहन + कल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्; 'मेघवाहन-नाम्नि कल्पे'

• तु: then/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location marker/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-अव्यय (there)

• लिंगम्: liṅga (emblem)
• लिंगम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), एकवचनम्

• बभूव: came to be/appeared
• बभूव: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• ह: indeed (it is said)
• ह: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (emphatic/itihāsa particle)

Speaker

Śiva (contextual continuity of narration in Adhyāya 4)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa liṅga-prādurbhāva-sthāna (Somnātha/Prabhāsa complex, broadly)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī addressed as ‘surasundarī’

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A barren, fire-scorched sacred ground at Prabhāsa across vast mythic time; then, in a moment of grace, a radiant liṅga rises/appears, cooling light replacing heat, with devas witnessing.

Characters & Entities

• Agni (fire)
• Liṅga
• Meghavāhana Kalpa
• Prabhāsa (implied locus)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sites are framed as cosmically ancient: the liṅga’s manifestation is tied to kalpa-and-yuga scale events, amplifying the kṣetra’s greatness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (implied), describing the locale where the liṅga manifested.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse provides a mythic provenance for liṅga worship at the site.