Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 126

Devanagari script

जितेंद्रियश्च यो नित्यं मां लिंगेत्र प्रपूजयेत् । भुक्तिमुक्ती न दूरस्थे तस्य नित्यं द्विजोत्तम

Transliteration

jiteṃdriyaśca yo nityaṃ māṃ liṃgetra prapūjayet | bhuktimuktī na dūrasthe tasya nityaṃ dvijottama

Translation

ਹੇ ਦ੍ਵਿਜੋਤਮ! ਜੋ ਜਿਤੇਂਦ੍ਰੀ ਭਗਤ ਨਿੱਤ ਇਸ ਲਿੰਗ-ਖੇਤਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਮੇਰੀ ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ, ਉਸ ਲਈ ਭੋਗ ਅਤੇ ਮੁਕਤੀ ਦੂਰ ਨਹੀਂ ਰਹਿੰਦੇ—ਸਦਾ ਨੇੜੇ ਹੀ ਰਹਿੰਦੇ ਹਨ।

Word by Word

• jita-indriyaḥ: one who has conquered the senses
• jita-indriyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jita (कृदन्त; √ji धातु) + indriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (jītāni indriyāṇi yasya saḥ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nityam (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time): always

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, (उत्तमपुरुष-प्रयोग), द्वितीया, एकवचन

• liṅgetra: at/in Liṅgetra (a sacred place/area of the liṅga)
• liṅgetra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + itra/etra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास/स्थानीय-नामरूप; सम्भाव्य तत्पुरुष (liṅgasya etraṃ/etraḥ) — पाठभेद/स्थलनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्गे एकवचन (अत्र अव्यक्त); अधिकरणार्थे (locative sense intended)

• prapūjayet: should worship
• prapūjayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√pūj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• bhukti-muktī: enjoyment and liberation
• bhukti-muktī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhukti (प्रातिपदिक) + mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (bhuktiś ca muktiś ca), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्विवचन, प्रथमा

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation)

• dūrasthe: far away
• dūrasthe: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dūrastha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; ‘far away’ (predicate adjective for bhukti-muktī)

• tasya: for him; of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nityam (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb): always

• dvijottama: O best of the twice-born
• dvijottama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष (uttamo dvijaḥ), पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (first-person “mām/me” indicates direct divine speech)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Liṅga-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottama (best of twice-born) addressed to the interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A self-controlled devotee performs daily worship at the liṅga: clean simple attire, bilva leaves and water offering, steady gaze; behind him symbolic imagery of two paths—prosperity and liberation—converging at Śiva.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Liṅga-kṣetra
• Dvijottama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Discipline and daily worship in a Śiva-kṣetra harmonize dharma, prosperity, and liberation—bhukti and mukti together.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The liṅga-kṣetra being narrated in Adhyāya 40 is praised as a place where Śiva grants both worldly and transcendent goals.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Maintain sense-control and perform nitya (daily) pūjā to Śiva in the liṅga-kṣetra.