Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । पूर्वमेवाहमेवासं स्पर्शलिंगस्वरूपवान् । न च मां तत्त्वतो वेद जनः कश्चिदिहेश्वरि

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | pūrvamevāhamevāsaṃ sparśaliṃgasvarūpavān | na ca māṃ tattvato veda janaḥ kaścidiheśvari

Translation

自在天说道：往昔我曾在此，以“触灵伽”（Sparśa-liṅga）之形而住。然则，噢女神，此地无人真正了知我之真实本性。

Word by Word

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

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• pūrvam: formerly
• pūrvam: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण/particle)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• eva: alone/indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण)

• āsam: was
• āsam: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• sparśaliṅgasvarūpavān: having the form of a touchable liṅga
• sparśaliṅgasvarūpavān: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sparśa (प्रातिपदिक) + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + svarūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + -vat (मतुप्/वतु प्रत्यय)
• Form: समास: (sparśa-liṅga) तत्पुरुष + (sparśaliṅga-svarūpa) तत्पुरुष; ‘-vān’ (मतुप्/वतु) प्रत्यययुक्त विशेषण; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/conjunction)

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tattvataḥ: in reality, truly
• tattvataḥ: Sambandha (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tattva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्/ablatival adverb: ‘in truth/according to reality’)

• veda: knows
• veda: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vid (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• janaḥ: a person, people
• janaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kaścit: anyone
• kaścit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अनिश्चित (indefinite)

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikarana (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/adverb of place)

• īśvari: O Goddess
• īśvari: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sparśa-liṅga (at Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva reveals that he existed as the Sparśa-liṅga; the scene shows an ancient, weathered liṅga emerging from earth/stone, with villagers nearby unaware, while Devī perceives the hidden radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Sparśa-liṅga
• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine may be present and worshipped, yet its deepest reality (tattva) remains subtle and known fully only by grace and right understanding.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, specifically the liṅga tradition connected to Somēśvara and the earlier Sparśa-liṅga form.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse introduces a specific liṅga-form (Sparśa-liṅga), implying site-specific worship traditions.