Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

फलं कोटिगुणं तस्य गयाश्राद्धसमं भवेत् । तस्माद्विशेषतः पूज्यं मम लिंगं च मानवैः

Transliteration

phalaṃ koṭiguṇaṃ tasya gayāśrāddhasamaṃ bhavet | tasmādviśeṣataḥ pūjyaṃ mama liṃgaṃ ca mānavaiḥ

Translation

…اس کے لیے اس کا پھل کروڑ گنا ہوگا، گویا گیا میں کیا گیا شرادھ۔ اس لیے لوگوں کو چاہیے کہ میرے لِنگ کی خاص عقیدت سے پوجا کریں۔

Word by Word

• फलम्: fruit; result
• फलम्: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• कोटिगुणम्: million-fold
• कोटिगुणम्: विशेषण (Qualifier of फलम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• तस्य: of that; his
• तस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन (Genitive, Singular)

• गयाश्राद्धसमम्: equal to the Gayā-śrāddha
• गयाश्राद्धसमम्: विशेषण (Predicate adjective of फलम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक) + श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (गयायां श्राद्धम् इव/तत्समम्) (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• भवेत्: would be; should be
• भवेत्: क्रिया (Predicate verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद (3rd person singular)

• तस्मात्: therefore; from that
• तस्मात्: अपादान (Ablative: therefore/from that reason)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी विभक्ति, एकवचन (Ablative, Singular)

• विशेषतः: especially
• विशेषतः: सम्बन्ध (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: especially)

• पूज्यम्: worthy to be worshipped
• पूज्यम्: विधेय-विशेषण (Predicate adjective of लिङ्गम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूज्य (कृदन्त; √पूज् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-यत्/ण्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive: 'to be worshipped') (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• मम: my
• मम: सम्बन्ध (Genitive: my)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन (Genitive, Singular)

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga (Śiva-emblem)
• लिङ्गम्: कर्ता/विषय (Topic/subject: the liṅga)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• च: and
• च: सम्बन्ध (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• मानवैः: by people; by humans
• मानवैः: करण/कर्ता (Agent in passive sense: by men / by humans)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural)

Speaker

Aśarīriṇī vāṇī (bodiless voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Koṭīśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Humans in general (mānavaiḥ) as direct addressees; Ṛṣis as immediate audience; king as narrative audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Koṭīśvara liṅga is worshiped with special honors; alongside, a symbolic vignette shows Gayā’s piṇḍa-dāna scene as a comparison, with a visual ‘equals’ motif—two scales balanced by divine light.

Characters & Entities

• Gayā
• Gayā-śrāddha
• Śiva-liṅga (Koṭīśvara, implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s sanctity can make local rites spiritually equivalent to famed pan-Indian pilgrimage centers like Gayā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Koṭīśvara-liṅga in Arbuda, whose worship is praised as especially potent.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Special worship of the liṅga is urged; śrāddha performed here is said to match Gayā-śrāddha in merit.