Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 162

Devanagari script

फेनपाः फेनजं लिंगं नाम चापि सुदुर्विदम् । कपिलो वालुकालिंगं वरदं च जपन्हरम्

Transliteration

phenapāḥ phenajaṃ liṃgaṃ nāma cāpi sudurvidam | kapilo vālukāliṃgaṃ varadaṃ ca japanharam

Translation

Die Phenapa schufen einen aus Schaum geborenen Liṅga; auch sein Name war überaus schwer zu begreifen. Kapila schuf einen Liṅga aus Sand und nannte ihn „Varada“ (Spender der Gaben) und „Japa-hara“ (Der die Last des Japa nimmt und es zur Vollendung führt).

Word by Word

• phenapāḥ: foam-drinkers (Phenapās)
• phenapāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phena + pā (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); ‘pā’ = ‘drinker’

• phenajam: born of foam
• phenajam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: phena + ja (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• liṅgam: liṅga
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• nāma: named
• nāma: Viśeṣaṇa (Appositional/नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc. 1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); नामनिर्देशार्थे

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

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्यय (particle; ‘also/even’)

• sudurvidam: very hard to know
• sudurvidam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + durvida (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• kapilaḥ: Kapila
• kapilaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• vālukāliṅgam: the sand-liṅga
• vālukāliṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vālukā + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• varadam: boon-giving
• varadam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: varada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• japanharam: removing (sins/obstacles) through chanting
• japanharam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: japan + hara (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); ‘japan’ = ‘chanting’ (from √jap), ‘hara’ = ‘remover’

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Phena-ja liṅga (name ‘Sudurvidam’) and Kapila’s Vāluka-liṅga (‘Varada’, ‘Japa-hara’)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Phenapas raise a shimmering foam-liṅga at the edge of churning water, its form half-emergent and mysterious; sage Kapila, tawny and ascetic, shapes a liṅga from sand on a riverbank, offering water and chanting, naming it Varada and Japa-hara.

Characters & Entities

• Phenapāḥ
• Kapila
• Śiva (Liṅga)
• Varada
• Japa-hara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva accepts diverse modes of worship; sincere practice like japa is sanctified and brought to fruition by his grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is explicitly named in this verse; it continues a catalog of liṅga manifestations.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Japa is alluded to through the epithet “Japa-hara,” but no detailed prescription is given.