Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

स्मरदेहविनाशाय मूर्त्यष्टकमयात्मने । नमः स्वरूपदेहाय ह्यरूपबहुरू पिणे

Transliteration

smaradehavināśāya mūrtyaṣṭakamayātmane | namaḥ svarūpadehāya hyarūpabahurū piṇe

Translation

Verehrung dem, der den Leib Smaras (Kāma) vernichtete; dessen Selbst die achtfache Verkörperung der kosmischen Gestalten ist; Verehrung dem, dessen Leib reine Wesenswirklichkeit ist—und der, formlos, in unzähligen Formen erscheint.

Word by Word

• स्मरदेहविनाशाय: to the destroyer of Smara’s (Kāma’s) body
• स्मरदेहविनाशाय: Sampradana (Dative/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्मर + देह + विनाश (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: स्मरस्य देहस्य विनाशः यस्य/येन (i.e., ‘destroyer of Kāma’s body’)

• मूर्त्यष्टकमयात्मने: to the Self consisting of the eight forms
• मूर्त्यष्टकमयात्मने: Sampradana (Dative/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूर्ति + अष्टक + मय + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: मूर्त्यष्टकं मयः (मयट्/मय) — ‘consisting of the eight forms’; आत्मने = आत्मन्-शब्दस्य चतुर्थी एकवचन

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambodhana/Prayojana (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, नमस्कारार्थक

• स्वरूपदेहाय: to the one whose body is his own true form
• स्वरूपदेहाय: Sampradana (Dative/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वरूप + देह (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: स्वरूपः एव देहः यस्य (one whose body is his own true form)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात; अवधारण/हेतुबोधक (emphatic/causal particle)

• अरूपबहुरूपिणे: to the formless yet many-formed one
• अरूपबहुरूपिणे: Sampradana (Dative/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-रूप + बहु-रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (अरूपः च बहुरूपी च) — ‘formless yet multiform’

Speaker

Andhaka

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva as a radiant central figure: one half shown as serene yogin (nirākāra hinted by empty halo/space), the other half surrounded by eight cosmic emblems (earth, water, fire, air, ether, sun, moon, yajamāna/ātman) suggesting aṣṭamūrti; in the background, Kāma’s bow and body dissolve into ash from Śiva’s third-eye fire.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Smara (Kāma)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is beyond form, yet compassionately manifests in many forms to uphold cosmic order and guide devotees.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse functions as a Śiva-stuti within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya; the snippet itself does not name a specific tīrtha, but supports the chapter’s sacred-place glorification through praise of the presiding deity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is stated here; it is a devotional salutation (namas) used as praise.