Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

गुप्तक्षेत्रे सिद्धलिंगं याति शक्तिगुहाऽकृतः । विहितस्तक्षकेणासौ यातुं तत्र महात्मना

Transliteration

guptakṣetre siddhaliṃgaṃ yāti śaktiguhā'kṛtaḥ | vihitastakṣakeṇāsau yātuṃ tatra mahātmanā

Translation

پوشیدہ مقدس خطّے میں یہ راہ سِدّھ لِنگ کی طرف جاتی ہے، جسے شکتی گُہا نے بنایا۔ اسی راستے کو مہاتما تَکشک نے وہاں جانے کے لیے مقرر کیا۔

Word by Word

• guptakṣetre: in the hidden field/place
• guptakṣetre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gupta-kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (gupta + kṣetra)

• siddhaliṅgam: the Siddha-liṅga (sacred emblem)
• siddhaliṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: siddha-liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (siddha + liṅga)

• yāti: goes/leads
• yāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (या) (धातु)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• śaktiguhā: Śakti-guhā (name of a cave/place)
• śaktiguhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakti-guhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (śakti + guhā)

• akṛtaḥ: unmade/natural
• akṛtaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ) + a- (निषेध) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘not made/uncrafted’ (as epithet)

• vihitaḥ: arranged
• vihitaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dhā (धा) + vi- (उपसर्ग) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; (understood with mārgaḥ) ‘arranged’

• takṣakeṇa: by Takṣaka
• takṣakeṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: takṣaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• asau: that (path/one)
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yātum: to go
• yātum: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (या) (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (infinitive)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक

• mahātmanā: by the great-souled one
• mahātmanā: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहि (mahā + ātman) ‘one whose self is great’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Guptakṣetra—Siddhaliṅga (Śaktiguhā)

Type: cave

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A shadowed sacred cave (Śaktiguhā) opens into a hidden kṣetra where Siddhaliṅga glows; Takṣaka Nāga is shown as the guardian who laid the path, with siddhas faintly visible in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Guptakṣetra
• Siddhaliṅga
• Śaktiguhā
• Takṣaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Some tīrthas are ‘hidden’ and accessed through divinely arranged means, emphasizing humility and guidance in pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Siddhaliṅga in a Guptakṣetra (hidden sacred region) is explicitly named and praised by implication.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the verse records the sacred access-route and its divine/Nāga arrangers.