Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

एवमुक्ता ततो गंगा सत्वरैत्यात्र पर्वते । लिंगमन्वेषयामास चिरकालादवाप सा

Transliteration

evamuktā tato gaṃgā satvaraityātra parvate | liṃgamanveṣayāmāsa cirakālādavāpa sā

Translation

یوں کہے جانے پر گنگا جلدی سے اس پہاڑ پر آئی اور لِنگ کی تلاش میں لگ گئی؛ طویل مدت کے بعد اس نے اسے پا لیا۔

Word by Word

• evamuktā: thus addressed/so spoken to
• evamuktā: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: evam-uktā (कृदन्त; एवम् + उक्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) from √vac (वच्) ‘said’, with एवम् as adverbial first member; विशेषण (qualifying gaṃgā)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/‘then’)

• gaṃgā: Gaṅgā
• gaṃgā: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्ता

• satvarā: quickly
• satvarā: Sambandha (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satvarā (अव्यय/स्त्री-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/‘quickly, hastily’; satvaram/satvarā usage)

• etya: having come
• etya: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: i (धातु; √इ)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (gerund/अव्ययकृदन्त) from √i ‘to go’; ‘having come’

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of place)

• parvate: on the mountain
• parvate: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

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

• anveṣayāmāsa: searched for
• anveṣayāmāsa: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu-√iṣ (धातु; अनु + √इष्/इष् ‘to seek’)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative stem anveṣay-)

• cirakālāt: after a long time
• cirakālāt: Apadana (Source/Separation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cira-kāla (प्रातिपदिक; चिर + काल)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादान (from/after)

• avāpa: obtained/found
• avāpa: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु; ava + √āp)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक; स-प्रोनाउन)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्ता

Speaker

Pulastya (narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda liṅga (to be found)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājendra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gaṅgā, personified as a luminous goddess with river motifs, hastens toward Arbuda and searches among rocks and forested slopes for a liṅga; time passes, emphasizing endurance until discovery.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Mountain (Arbuda setting)
• Śiva-liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Earnest seeking in devotion is rewarded; perseverance becomes a sanctifying force in sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda mountain setting connected to the emergence/establishment of the Gaṅgeśvara liṅga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it narrates the devotional quest that leads to a worship-site.