Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

गंगाभस्यपि तिष्ठंति षष्टिकोटिमितानिहि । सिद्धलिंगानि तानीशे तिष्येऽदृश्यत्वमाययुः

Transliteration

gaṃgābhasyapi tiṣṭhaṃti ṣaṣṭikoṭimitānihi | siddhaliṃgāni tānīśe tiṣye'dṛśyatvamāyayuḥ

Translation

گنگا کے کنارے ہی لِنگ قائم ہیں—واقعی ساٹھ کروڑ کی مقدار میں۔ اے دیوی! وہ سِدّھ لِنگ تِشیہ (کلی) یگ میں مایا کے سبب نظر سے اوجھل ہو گئے۔

Word by Word

• गंगाभस्य: of Gaṅgābha
• गंगाभस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गाभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रयोगानुसार), षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन (Genitive singular)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• तिष्ठन्ति: stand; remain
• तिष्ठन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• षष्टिकोटिमितानि: numbering sixty crores
• षष्टिकोटिमितानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षष्टि-कोटि-मित (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘षष्टिकोट्या मितानि’ = measured/numbering sixty crores

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• सिद्धलिंगानि: the accomplished (siddha) liṅgas
• सिद्धलिंगानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्ध-लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: ‘सिद्धानि लिङ्गानि’

• तानि: those
• तानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ईशे: in/at Īśa (Lord Śiva)
• ईशे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative singular)

• तिष्ये: in (the time of) Tiṣya
• तिष्ये: Adhikarana (Time/Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative singular)

• अदृश्यत्वम्: invisibility
• अदृश्यत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-दृश्य-त्व (प्रातिपदिक; समास/तद्धित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अदृश्यस्य भावः’ (त्व-प्रत्यय)

• आययुः: attained; came to
• आययुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लिट् लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘they attained/came to’

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā-taṭa (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī (Devī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Along the Gaṅgā ghāṭs of Kāśī, countless liṅgas are implied—some visible, many hidden—while Śiva explains to Pārvatī that in Kali they have become unseen by māyā.

Characters & Entities

• Pārvatī
• Gaṅgā
• Siddha-liṅga
• Tiṣya (Kali Yuga)
• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sanctity persists even when sacred forms become hidden in Kali Yuga; absence to the eye does not mean absence of power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā-bank in Kāśī (Gaṅgā-tīra) as a locus of innumerable siddha-liṅgas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it provides a yuga-based explanation for why many liṅgas are not visible.