Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । तस्याग्नेये तु देवेशि अरुणेन प्रतिष्ठितम् । धनुषां च त्रये तत्र सिद्धलिंगसमीपतः

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tasyāgneye tu deveśi aruṇena pratiṣṭhitam | dhanuṣāṃ ca traye tatra siddhaliṃgasamīpataḥ

Translation

自在天（Īśvara）曰：天女啊，于其东南方，有阿鲁那（Aruṇa）所安立之灵伽；在悉达灵伽近旁，相距三弓之量。

Word by Word

• ईश्वरः: Īśvara
• ईश्वरः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदी, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• तस्य: of it/of that
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• आग्नेये: in the southeastern (quarter)
• आग्नेये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आग्नेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण, नपुंसकलिङ्गे/पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; दिक्/कोण-विशेषण (southeastern)

• तु: indeed/and
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विरोध/विशेषार्थक (particle)

• देवेशि: O lady of the gods (Deveśī)
• देवेशि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवेशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• अरुणेन: by Aruṇa
• अरुणेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• प्रतिष्ठितम्: was established
• प्रतिष्ठितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-स्था (धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (लिङ्गम्/स्थलम् इत्यादि) अव्यक्त-विशेष्येण सह

• धनुषाम्: of bows (as a measure)
• धनुषाम्: Sambandha (Measure-genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; परिमाणार्थे (of bows’ length)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• त्रये: at three (bows’ distance)
• त्रये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; परिमाण/अधिकरणार्थे: ‘त्रये (धनुषां)’ = at a distance of three bows

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• सिद्धलिङ्गसमीपतः: near the Siddha-liṅga
• सिद्धलिङ्गसमीपतः: Apadana/Desha (Near/from near/अपादान-देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सिद्ध-लिङ्ग-समīप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त ‘-तः’), पञ्चमी-अर्थे; ‘सिद्धलिङ्गस्य समीपात्/समीपे’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aruṇa-pratiṣṭhita liṅga (near Siddhaliṅga)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim stands near Siddhaliṅga; a guide gestures toward the south-east where a smaller liṅga, established by Aruṇa, sits within a modest shrine, the distance marked as ‘three bow-lengths’.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Devī
• Aruṇa
• Siddhaliṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are not abstract: the Purāṇa preserves precise sacred geography, linking spiritual merit to specific shrines and their consecrators.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A liṅga consecrated by Aruṇa, located near Siddhaliṅga in Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; the verse provides locational guidance for pilgrimage and darśana.