Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

प्राधान्येन वरारोहे पूर्वे स्वायंभुवेंऽतरे । कपिलायास्तटेदेवि लिंगानां षष्टिरुत्तमा

Transliteration

prādhānyena varārohe pūrve svāyaṃbhuveṃ'tare | kapilāyāstaṭedevi liṃgānāṃ ṣaṣṭiruttamā

Translation

“اے خوش کمر والی، قدیم سوایمبھُوَو یُگ میں، اے دیوی، کپیلا کے کنارے پر نمایاں طور پر لِنگوں میں ساٹھ نہایت اُتم لِنگ مشہور ہیں۔”

Word by Word

• prādhānyena: by predominance / chiefly
• prādhānyena: Karaṇa (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prādhānya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; हेतौ/प्रकारे (by way of predominance)

• varārohe: O fair-hipped one
• varārohe: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varārohā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; वर + आरोह (श्रेष्ठा आरोहिणी इति)

• pūrve: in the former (period)
• pūrve: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; विशेषण

• svāyaṃbhuve: in the Svāyaṃbhuva (Manvantara)
• svāyaṃbhuve: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svāyaṃbhuva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; मन्वन्तर-विशेषण

• antare: during/within
• antare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अन्तरे’ = within/during

• kapilāyāḥ: of Kapilā
• kapilāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• taṭe: on the bank
• taṭe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• liṅgānām: of the liṅgas
• liṅgānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ṣaṣṭiḥ: sixty
• ṣaṣṭiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• uttamā: excellent/supreme
• uttamā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with ṣaṣṭiḥ)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapilā-taṭa (sixty liṅgas)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A river named Kapilā with sixty liṅgas arranged in a sacred grove; a faint overlay of cosmic time—Svāyaṃbhuva Manvantara—shown as ancestral sages establishing shrines, while Śiva narrates to Pārvatī.

Characters & Entities

• Svāyaṃbhuva Manvantara
• Kapilā
• Devī
• Śiva-liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s glory is timeless—its sanctity is traced back to primordial eras, strengthening faith in the continuity of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapilā’s riverbank within Prabhāsa-kṣetra, celebrated for sixty outstanding liṅgas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse provides sacred-historical grounding for pilgrimage and liṅga-worship at Kapilā-taṭa.