Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

सर्वदेवमयं स्थानं कोटिलिङ्गमनुत्तमम् । यथा नदीनदाः सर्वे सागरे यान्ति संक्षयम्

Transliteration

sarvadevamayaṃ sthānaṃ koṭiliṅgamanuttamam | yathā nadīnadāḥ sarve sāgare yānti saṃkṣayam

Translation

สถานที่นี้แผ่ซ่านด้วยเทพทั้งปวง เป็น ‘โกฏิลิงคะ’ อันยอดยิ่ง ดุจดังแม่น้ำและลำธารทั้งหลายท้ายที่สุดย่อมไหลไปรวมและสงบลงในมหาสมุทร

Word by Word

• sarva-deva-mayam: made of / pervaded by all gods
• sarva-deva-mayam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (Singular); विशेषणम् (qualifier) स्थानम्; समासः: sarva-deva-maya = 'consisting of all gods'

• sthānam: place
• sthānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• koṭi-liṅgam: Koṭiliṅga (the crore-liṅga)
• koṭi-liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: koṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (Singular); समासः: koṭi-liṅga = 'a crore of liṅgas / koṭi-liṅga (name/epithet)'

• anuttamam: unsurpassed
• anuttamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anuttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (Singular); विशेषणम् (qualifier) (स्थानम्/कोटिलिङ्गम्)

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; उपमानवाचक-अव्ययम् (comparative 'as/just as')

• nadī-nadāḥ: rivers and streams
• nadī-nadāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक) + nada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine; nada) / स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine; nadī) समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (collective dvandva), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• sarve: all
• sarve: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), बहुवचनम् (Plural); विशेषणम् (qualifier) nadī-nadāḥ

• sāgare: into the ocean
• sāgare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• yānti: go
• yānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• saṃkṣayam: dissolution / end
• saṃkṣayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (Singular); गत्यर्थक-क्रियायाः लक्ष्यं (goal/result)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (narrative voice within Revā Khaṇḍa; likely a ṛṣi addressing a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Koṭiliṅga (at Śūlabheda)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Avanīpati / king

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A majestic liṅga labeled ‘Koṭiliṅga’ radiates with many subtle deity-forms within its aura; around it, stylized rivers flow inward like threads into an ocean, symbolizing convergence.

Characters & Entities

• Koṭiliṅga
• Śūlabheda (contextual tīrtha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A supreme Śaiva tīrtha gathers divine presence and grants spiritual ‘resolution’—like rivers finding completion in the ocean.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Śūlabheda/Koṭiliṅga sacred site within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s pilgrimage landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated here; the verse primarily proclaims the site’s all-deity nature and unsurpassed status.