Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 181

Devanagari script

राजमाषमयं यक्षा नाम भूतपतिं स्मृतम् । तिलान्नजं च पितरो नाम वृषपतिस्तथा

Transliteration

rājamāṣamayaṃ yakṣā nāma bhūtapatiṃ smṛtam | tilānnajaṃ ca pitaro nāma vṛṣapatistathā

Translation

Die Yakṣas verehren einen Liṅga aus rājamāṣa (einer Bohnenart) und gedenken seiner unter dem Namen Bhūtapati, „Herr der Wesen“. Und die Pitṛs verehren einen Liṅga, hervorgegangen aus der Sesam-Reis-Opfergabe, der auch als Vṛṣapati bekannt ist.

Word by Word

• राजमाषमयम्: made of rājamāṣa (a kind of bean)
• राजमाषमयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राजमाषमय (प्रातिपदिक; राजमाष+मय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (neuter, accusative singular; adjective)

• यक्षाः: the Yakṣas
• यक्षाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (masculine, nominative plural)

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Appellation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: नामनिर्देशक-अव्यय (appellative indeclinable)

• भूतपतिम्: lord of beings/spirits
• भूतपतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूतपति (प्रातिपदिक; भूत+पति)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (masculine, accusative singular)

• स्मृतम्: is remembered; is called
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे 'is remembered/called' (past passive participle, neuter sg.)

• तिलान्नजम्: born of sesame-food; made from sesame-rice/food
• तिलान्नजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तिलान्नज (प्रातिपदिक; तिल+अन्न+ज)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (neuter, accusative singular; adjective)

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

• पितरः: the Pitṛs (ancestors)
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (masculine, nominative plural)

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Appellation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: नामनिर्देशक-अव्यय (appellative indeclinable)

• वृषपतिः: Vṛṣapati (name; lord of the bull)
• वृषपतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषपति (प्रातिपदिक; वृष+पति)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (masculine, nominative singular)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/समुच्चय-अव्यय (adverb: likewise)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narrative style)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yakṣas, jewel-adorned forest guardians, offer a dark bean-made liṅga; nearby, pitṛs as luminous ancestral figures receive sesame-rice offerings beside a liṅga named Vṛṣapati, with a calm cremation-ground/riverbank edge implied.

Characters & Entities

• Yakṣas
• Pitṛs
• Bhūtapati
• Vṛṣapati

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All classes of beings approach Śiva through devotion, and even simple offerings become sacred when consecrated as liṅga-worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is specified in this verse; it praises the universality of Śiva’s worship across cosmic communities.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies liṅga-pūjā using specific sacred substances (rājamāṣa; sesame-rice offering) associated with particular worshippers.