Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

गिरि श्चतुरशीत्यायं योजनानां हि विस्मृतः । सर्वलिंगमयो यस्मादतः कुर्यात्प्रदक्षिणम्

Transliteration

giri ścaturaśītyāyaṃ yojanānāṃ hi vismṛtaḥ | sarvaliṃgamayo yasmādataḥ kuryātpradakṣiṇam

Translation

یہ پہاڑ چوراسی یوجن تک پھیلا ہوا ہے—اتنا عظیم کہ بیان سے باہر ہے۔ چونکہ یہ ہر سو لِنگوں سے معمور ہے، اس لیے اس کی پردکشنا (طواف) کرنی چاہیے۔

Word by Word

• giriḥ: the mountain
• giriḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: giri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• caturaśīti: eighty-four
• caturaśīti: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catur (प्रातिपदिक) + aśīti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (संख्यावाचक), प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समासः (84)

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; निर्देशार्थक (this)

• yojanānām: of yojanas (measures)
• yojanānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेतौ/निश्चयार्थक (indeed/for)

• vismṛtaḥ: is renowned/celebrated (lit. remembered widely)
• vismṛtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-smṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘विस्मृत’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (गिरि-विशेषण)

• sarva-liṅga-mayaḥ: consisting of all (Śiva-)liṅgas
• sarva-liṅga-mayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष ‘सर्वलिङ्गैः मयः/पूर्णः’ (consisting of all liṅgas)

• yasmāt: because (of which)
• yasmāt: Apadana (Cause/अपादान-हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे ‘because/from which’

• ataḥ: therefore
• ataḥ: Sambandha (Inference/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्-अर्थे (therefore)

• kuryāt: should perform
• kuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातु—कृ ‘to do/should do’

• pradakṣiṇam: circumambulation
• pradakṣiṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्म (object)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; speaker not explicit)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śrīśaila-giri

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sweeping panorama of Śrīśaila’s long ridgelines; countless small liṅgas appear as natural rock-forms; pilgrims trace a circumambulatory path around the mountain, turning geography into ritual.

Characters & Entities

• Śrīśaila
• Liṅga (Śiva-symbol)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A sacred landscape is treated as Śiva’s embodied presence; honoring it physically through circumambulation is a form of worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śrīśaila, described as vast and filled with Śiva-liṅga presence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pradakṣiṇā (circumambulation) of the mountain.