Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

एतल्लिंगं महादेवि चतुर्वक्त्रं महाप्रभम् । दृष्ट्वापि तद्विमुच्येत सर्वपापैस्तु मानवः

Transliteration

etalliṃgaṃ mahādevi caturvaktraṃ mahāprabham | dṛṣṭvāpi tadvimucyeta sarvapāpaistu mānavaḥ

Translation

اے مہادیوی! یہ نہایت جلال والا چہار رُخی لِنگ ہے؛ اس کے محض درشن سے ہی انسان تمام گناہوں سے رہائی پا لیتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; (liṅgam इति विशेष्येण सह)

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

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambandha (Address/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• catur-vaktram: four-faced
• catur-vaktram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + vaktra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (liṅgam इति विशेष्येण सह)

• mahā-prabham: greatly radiant
• mahā-prabham: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + prabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (liṅgam इति विशेष्येण सह)

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Sambandha (Prior action/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive): 'having seen'

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारार्थक-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• tat: that (liṅga)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• vimucyeta: would be freed
• vimucyeta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-muc (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थः (passive sense: 'would be released')

• sarva-pāpaiḥ: from all sins
• sarva-pāpaiḥ: Apadana (Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; (वियोग/अपादानार्थेऽपि तृतीया)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• mānavaḥ: a man; human
• mānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Caturvaktra-liṅga (within Prabhāsa-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Mahādevī/Umā)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant four-faced liṅga (caturvaktra) stands on a pedestal, emitting a soft halo; a devotee stands with folded hands, while the Devī is addressed as witness to the promise of sin-release.

Characters & Entities

• liṅga
• caturvaktra (four-faced)
• Mahādeva (implied)
• pāpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana (sacred seeing) is treated as a powerful act of grace: contact with a holy form can purify even without elaborate rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The four-faced (caturvaktra) liṅga of Mahādeva/Bhairaveśvara established near Brahmakuṇḍa in Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana: simply beholding the liṅga is stated to remove sins; it complements the earlier snāna and pūjā.