Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । अथ तत्रैव देवेशि लिंगं गन्धर्वसेनया । स्थापितं घनवाहस्य पुत्र्या गौरीसमीपतः

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | atha tatraiva deveśi liṃgaṃ gandharvasenayā | sthāpitaṃ ghanavāhasya putryā gaurīsamīpataḥ

Translation

Īśvara phán: Rồi ngay tại đó, hỡi Devī—Đấng Tối Thượng giữa chư thiên—một liṅga đã được đoàn quân Gandharva thiết lập, do ái nữ của Ghanavāhana dựng lên, gần thánh điện của Gaurī.

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमसूचक

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis)

• deveśi: O goddess, O queen of gods
• deveśi: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deveśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; (देवी/पार्वती) सम्बोधन

• liṅgam: liṅga
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• gandharva-senayā: by the Gandharva-army (Gandharvasenā)
• gandharva-senayā: Karana (Instrument/Agentive means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandharva (प्रातिपदिक) + senā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (गन्धर्वाणां सेना)

• sthāpitam: installed
• sthāpitam: Kriya (Result state/कर्मणि)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthāpita (कृदन्त; √sthā धातु, णिच्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) — ‘स्थापितम्’

• ghanavāhasya: of Ghanavāha(na)
• ghanavāhasya: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghanavāhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• putryā: by the daughter
• putryā: Karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• gaurī-samīpataḥ: near Gaurī
• gaurī-samīpataḥ: Adhikarana (Proximity/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: gaurī (प्रातिपदिक) + samīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त ‘-तः’; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (गौर्याः समीपः)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gandharvaseneśvara (liṅga established by Gandharva host) near Gaurī-sannidhi

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A celestial Gandharva host performs a liṅga-pratiṣṭhā near Gaurī’s shrine: musicians with vīṇā and mṛdaṅga, fragrant garlands, incense smoke, and a newly set stone liṅga beside a radiant Devī-sannidhi.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara
• Devī
• Gandharva-senā
• Ghanavāhana
• Gaurī
• Prabhāsa Kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion expands into enduring sacred works—establishing shrines that allow future pilgrims to connect with Śiva through place-based worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A liṅga-shrine near Gaurī within Prabhāsa Kṣetra, as part of the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-sthāpana (installation of a liṅga) by devoted worshippers, implying continued pūjā at that spot.