Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महालिंगं महादेवि सुरप्रियम् । रावणेश्वरवायव्ये धनुषां त्रिंशकेऽन्तरे

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahāliṃgaṃ mahādevi surapriyam | rāvaṇeśvaravāyavye dhanuṣāṃ triṃśake'ntare

Translation

ایشور نے فرمایا: “پھر اے مہادیوی، دیوتاؤں کو محبوب اُس مہا لِنگ کے درشن کو جانا چاہیے، جو راونیشور کے شمال مغرب میں، تیس دھنُش کے فاصلے کے اندر واقع ہے۔”

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (Lord Śiva)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Avyaya (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: thereafter/from there)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; injunctive sense: 'should go'

• mahā-liṅgam: the great liṅga
• mahā-liṅgam: Karma (Object/Goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

• mahā-devi: O great goddess
• mahā-devi: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचन

• sura-priyam: beloved of the gods
• sura-priyam: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सुराणां प्रियः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; qualifying mahāliṅgam

• rāvaṇa-īśvara-vāyavye: in the Vāyavya (northwest) area of Rāvaṇeśvara
• rāvaṇa-īśvara-vāyavye: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + vāyavya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; place-locative (in the vāyavya part/quarter of Rāvaṇeśvara)

• dhanuṣām: of bows (as a measure)
• dhanuṣām: Sambandha (Measure/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanuṣ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचन; measure-expression (of bows)

• triṃśake: in/within thirty
• triṃśake: Adhikarana (Location/Measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: triṃśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; locative in a measure phrase

• antare: within, in between
• antare: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; locative (within/between)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahāliṅga

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva instructs Devī on a pilgrimage route; a stylized map-like background shows Rāvaṇeśvara shrine and, to its northwest, the Mahāliṅga; devotees walking with water-pots and flowers.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī
• Rāvaṇeśvara
• Mahāliṅga
• Suras (Devas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is presented as disciplined sacred movement—seeking Śiva’s liṅgas in a sanctified landscape to gain divine favor.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, pointing to a Mahāliṅga shrine located near Rāvaṇeśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A yātrā-instruction: “one should go” to the specified liṅga; no separate dāna/snān/japa is stated in this verse.