Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । दृष्ट्वा प्रतिष्ठितं लिंगं याज्ञवल्क्येन धीमता । स्वमातुः शुद्धिहेतोः स तन्नाम्ना लिंगमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | dṛṣṭvā pratiṣṭhitaṃ liṃgaṃ yājñavalkyena dhīmatā | svamātuḥ śuddhihetoḥ sa tannāmnā liṃgamuttamam

Translation

سوتا نے کہا: دانا یاج्ञولکیہ نے اپنی ماں کی تطہیر کے لیے جو لِنگ پرتیِشتھت کیا تھا، اسے دیکھ کر اس نے اسی نام سے اس اعلیٰ لِنگ کو پہچانا اور معروف کیا۔

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; वक्ता/कर्ता

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having seen)

• pratiṣṭhitam: installed/established
• pratiṣṭhitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prati-ṣṭhā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• liṅgam: liṅga (Śiva emblem)
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• yājñavalkyena: by Yājñavalkya
• yājñavalkyena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yājñavalkya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण/कर्तृ-निर्देश (agent/instrument)

• dhīmatā: wise
• dhīmatā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhīmat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; विशेषण (yājñavalkyasya)

• sva-mātuḥ: of (his) own mother
• sva-mātuḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva + mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक; स्व + मातृ)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• śuddhi-hetoḥ: for purification (as the purpose)
• śuddhi-hetoḥ: Hetu (Purpose/Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śuddhi-hetu (प्रातिपदिक; शुद्धि + हेतु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; प्रयोजन-सम्बन्ध (for the sake of)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्ता

• tat-nāmnā: by that name
• tat-nāmnā: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad + nāman (प्रातिपदिक; तत् + नामन्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; नाम-करण (by that name)

• liṅgam: the liṅga
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• uttamam: excellent
• uttamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Yājñavalkyeśvara

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yājñavalkya, austere and radiant, stands before a newly established Śiva-liṅga; the mood is solemn and compassionate, with an implied maternal figure or symbolic ‘mother’s purification’ motif (water-vessel, white cloth, lamps).

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Yājñavalkya
• Yājñavalkyeśvara
• Śiva
• Mother of Yājñavalkya (unnamed)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Acts of devotion performed with filial responsibility (seeking a parent’s purification) become sanctifying for both family and place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra setting where Yājñavalkya’s consecrated liṅga is revered.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-pratiṣṭhā (consecratory establishment) undertaken with a purificatory intention.