Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

गुहेन च महालिंगं कुमारेश्वरमीश्वरम् । संस्थाप्य तीर्थमुख्यत्वं मम दत्तं महात्मना

Transliteration

guhena ca mahāliṃgaṃ kumāreśvaramīśvaram | saṃsthāpya tīrthamukhyatvaṃ mama dattaṃ mahātmanā

Translation

Dan Guha (Skanda) menegakkan Liṅga Agung—Tuhan Kumāreśvara, Sang Īśvara. Setelah dipasang, insan berjiwa agung itu menganugerahkan kepadaku kedudukan sebagai yang terutama di antara segala tīrtha.

Word by Word

• गुहेन: by Guha (Kārttikeya)
• गुहेन: Karta (Agent in absolutive clause/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• महा-लिङ्गम्: the great liṅga
• महा-लिङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय ('great liṅga')

• कुमारेश्वरम्: Kumāreśvara
• कुमारेश्वरम्: Karma (Object apposition/कर्म-समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुमार + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ('Lord of Kumāra')

• ईश्वरम्: the Lord
• ईश्वरम्: Karma (Object apposition/कर्म-समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• संस्थाप्य: having established
• संस्थाप्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम् + स्थाप् (धातु) + ल्यप् (अव्ययकृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund): 'having established'

• तीर्थ-मुख्यत्वम्: chief status among tīrthas
• तीर्थ-मुख्यत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ + मुख्यत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष ('status of being chief among tīrthas')

• मम: to me/of me
• मम: Sampradana/Sambandha (Beneficiary/Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• दत्तम्: was given
• दत्तम्: Kriya (Passive predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दा (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; here agreeing with 'तीर्थमुख्यत्वम्' (object)

• महात्मना: by the great-souled one
• महात्मना: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक: महात्मन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय ('great-souled one')

Speaker

Tīrtharāja (Mahīsāgara-saṅgama personified)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kumāreśvara (at Mahī–Sāgara-saṅgama)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Guha/Skanda, radiant and youthful, performs liṅga-pratiṣṭhā of a towering Mahā-liṅga named Kumāreśvara at the confluence; devas shower flowers; the river and ocean deities witness as the tīrtha is crowned ‘foremost’.

Characters & Entities

• Guha (Skanda/Kumāra)
• Kumāreśvara (Śiva-liṅga)
• Mahāliṅga
• Mahīsāgara-saṅgama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s greatness is sealed by divine consecration—Skanda’s स्थापना of a Śiva-liṅga becomes the basis for the site’s supremacy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mahīsāgara-saṅgama, linked to the installed Kumāreśvara liṅga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-pratiṣṭhā (establishing a Śiva-liṅga) is referenced as the sanctifying act behind the tīrtha’s rank.