Kumāra’s Liṅgas at Guptakshetra

This is the account of the Liṅgas set up at Guptakshetra after Skanda (Kumāra) killed the asura Tāraka. It is told in the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 33 to 36. Five Liṅgas stand at the Mahīsāgara Saṃgama: Pratijñeśvara, Kapāleśvara, Kumāreśa, Stambheśvara and Siddheśvara.

Skanda’s grief and the teaching of Vishṇu

Skanda’s Śakti slew Tāraka, and Kumāra was seized by grief. Tāraka, the son of Vajraṅga, had been a devotee of Bhagavān Śiva. Was there not pāpa (sin) in his death?

Bhagavān Vishṇu spoke to Skanda and comforted him with teaching on the right way to kill the wicked:

“The dharma of killing evil is not pāpa. It purifies. The body of the great asura has been scattered, and the places where he fell are now made holy. But listen to the highest glory of the Liṅga. At the beginning of creation, Bhagavān Śiva stood as a Liṅga. When Brahmā and I tried to find its limits, we could not. Because the whole universe always merges into the Liṅga, it is called the Liṅga of Rudra. If a person bathes the Liṅga with pure water, all beings from Brahmā down to a blade of grass are satisfied. He who sets up a Śiva-liṅga in a clean place with great devotion is freed from all pāpa and rejoices in the world of Rudra.”

Bhagavān Vishṇu ended: “It is right for you to set up a Liṅga here.”

Bhagavān Śiva himself then spoke: “What Vāsudeva has said is so and not otherwise. I am Hari and Hari is I. There is no difference between us, as there is none between two lamps. He who hates him hates me. He who follows him is my follower.”

The Skanda Mahā Purāṇa tells this in the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 33.

The Liṅgas made by Viśvakarmā and Brahmā

Skanda called Viśvakarmā and had three Liṅgas made. Bhagavān Vishṇu, Bhagavān Śiva, Brahmā and all the devas were present as he set them up.

Pratijñeśvara

This Liṅga was set up in the west, at the very place where Skanda had taken the pratijñā (vow) to slay Tāraka. On the eighth day of the dark half of Caitra, a devotee should take the holy bath, fast and keep vigil. He is then freed from the pāpa of Pārushya (violence and cruelty).

Kapāleśvara and Kapālikeśvarī

This Liṅga was set up in the south-east, at the place where the Śakti came out of Tāraka’s body after he was struck. Near Kapāleśvara, in the northern quarter, Skanda set up the devī Kapālikeśvarī. This place is called Śakticchidra.

Skanda also bathed in Pātālagaṅgā (the Gaṅgā of the nether worlds) and offered a water offering to Tāraka: “Let this water offering with sesame seeds bring lasting good to this great-souled devotee of Rudra, the son of Vajraṅga and grandson of Kaśyapa.”

Bhagavān Śiva said: “If a man takes his holy dip, fasts, and honours Kapāleśvara and the devī on the fourteenth day of the dark half of Caitra, he is freed from the pāpa of tejovadha. Suppose that tithi falls on a Monday, with a good yoga and Taitila Karaṇa, which together make six auspicious things. If the devotee repeats the Rudra Mantra by day and by night, he will go to the world of Rudra in his own body.”

The Skanda Mahā Purāṇa tells this in the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 33.

Kumāreśa (Kumāreśvara)

The third Liṅga was a special creation of Brahmā himself, and the best of all. The devas made a beautiful lake and invited all the holy waters to live in it. On the auspicious Caturdaśī of the month of Vaiśākha, the brāhmaṇas of Brahmā set up the Liṅga for good. Skanda bathed the Liṅga with the waters of all the holy rivers and honoured it with flowers and mantras. Bhagavān Śiva himself was present in the Liṅga and accepted the pūjā.

Bhagavān Śiva then named a long list of benefits for pūjā at Kumāreśa:

• the removal of all illness
• sons and wealth
• rain in times of drought
• memory of earlier births
• the destruction of all pāpa
• moksha (liberation) for those who die at Kumāreśa

He who bathes Kumāreśa with milk or pañcāmṛta gains the puṇya of an Agnishṭoma. He who bathes it with ghee at each saṃkrānti (entry of the sun into a new sign) gains the puṇya of giving a maiden in marriage.

Pārvatī also promised to stay at Kumāreśa and grant varas (boons) to women. On the third day of Caitra she gives good fortune, good husbands and sons to the women who honour her. Gaṇeśa was set up near Kumāreśa, and he promised to remove obstacles for all devotees of the Liṅga.

The Skanda Mahā Purāṇa tells this in the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 34.

Stambheśvara

After the Liṅgas were set up, the devas asked Skanda’s leave to raise a jaya-stambha (victory pillar) for his triumph. On the battlefield itself they fixed a bright golden pillar called Jaya. Skanda set up the third Liṅga made by Viśvakarmā on top of this pillar. This is Stambheśvara, the Liṅga of the victory pillar.

On the west side of the pillar Skanda made a well with the tip of his Śakti. The Gaṅgā flows through its bottom. Pūjā of Stambheśvara on the Caturdaśī of the dark half of Māgha, with pitṛ-tarpaṇa (water offerings to the ancestors) in that well, gives the puṇya of the Gayā-śrāddha. Pūjā with fragrant flowers gives the puṇya of the Vājapeya yajña.

The Skanda Mahā Purāṇa tells this in the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 35.

Siddheśvara, installed by all the devas

The devas were moved by the glory of Kumāra’s Liṅgas. They wished to set up one more for their own purification. There were too many devas to count, so one shared Liṅga was set up by all the devas together. This is Siddheśvara.

The devas also brought the great Śakti Siddhambikā. She was made from the first Prakṛti at the beginning of the universe, and she is called by this name because the Siddhas honoured her. She was set up in the eastern quarter of the tīrtha. A sacred lake called Siddhakuṇḍa was also made.

At this time the dānava Pralamba came and tried to spoil the installation. Skanda slew Pralamba, and a devī was established at that place: Siddhāmbikā, the presiding devī of the whole region. A sacred well called Siddhakūpa was also dug.

The Skanda Mahā Purāṇa tells this in the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 36.

The five Liṅgas

All five Liṅgas are at the Mahīsāgara Saṃgama, in the region of Guptakshetra.

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 33–36