Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

संवत्सरसहस्राच्च स्वशिरो हि महाभुजः । कृत्त्वा करेण लिंगस्य पूजनार्थं समर्पयत्

Transliteration

saṃvatsarasahasrācca svaśiro hi mahābhujaḥ | kṛttvā kareṇa liṃgasya pūjanārthaṃ samarpayat

Translation

Nach tausend Jahren schnitt sich jener Mächtigarmige mit eigener Hand den Kopf ab und brachte ihn als Opfergabe zur Verehrung des Liṅga dar.

Word by Word

• saṃvatsara-sahasrāt: from (a period of) a thousand years
• saṃvatsara-sahasrāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃvatsara + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष — ablative singular; 'from a thousand years'

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

• sva-śiraḥ: his own head
• sva-śiraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva + śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष — neuter accusative singular; 'his own head'

• hi: indeed, for
• hi: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: emphasis/causal)

• mahā-bhujaḥ: the mighty-armed (one)
• mahā-bhujaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + bhuja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; कर्मधारय — masculine nominative singular; epithet

• kṛttvā: having cut off
• kṛttvā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛt कृन्त् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) — having cut off

• kareṇa: with (his) hand
• kareṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन — masculine instrumental singular

• liṅgasya: of the liṅga
• liṅgasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन — neuter genitive singular

• pūjana-artham: for worship
• pūjana-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūjana + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष — accusative singular used adverbially (purpose): 'for the sake of worship'

• samarpayat: he offered, dedicated
• samarpayat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + √arp अर्प् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — past (imperfect) 3rd person singular: 'he offered/dedicated'

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gokarṇa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Divine assembly and audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rāvaṇa, after long austerity, dramatically offers his severed head before the liṅga as an act of worship; the shrine glows with Śiva’s presence.

Characters & Entities

• Rāvaṇa
• Śiva
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Supreme devotion (bhakti) expresses itself as total offering—placing worship of Śiva above bodily attachment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra/Kedārakṣetra is the broader sacred setting of this Kedārakhaṇḍa episode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-pūjā (worship of the Śiva-liṅga) is central; the verse highlights offering as an extreme form of devotion rather than a general rule.