Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

हरोऽप्यश्ममयं रूपं प्राप्य लोकविगर्हितम् । लिंगाकारं विप्रशापान्महद्दुःखमवाप्स्यति

Transliteration

haro'pyaśmamayaṃ rūpaṃ prāpya lokavigarhitam | liṃgākāraṃ vipraśāpānmahadduḥkhamavāpsyati

Translation

„Selbst Hara (Śiva) wird, nachdem er eine steinerne, von der Welt geschmähte Gestalt erlangt hat, durch den Fluch eines Brāhmaṇa die Form eines Liṅga annehmen und großes Leid erfahren.“

Word by Word

• हरः: Hara (Shiva)
• हरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (also/even)

• अश्ममयम्: made of stone
• अश्ममयम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अश्ममय (प्रातिपदिक; अश्मन् + मयट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अश्ममय’ = अश्मनः विकारः/मयः (made of stone)

• रूपम्: form
• रूपम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्राप्य: having attained
• प्राप्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) → प्राप्य (कृदन्त, ल्यप्/क्त्वान्त-समकक्ष)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘having obtained/attained’

• लोकविगर्हितम्: censured by the world
• लोकविगर्हितम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोकविगर्हित (प्रातिपदिक; लोक + विगर्हित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘विगर्हित’ (censured) + ‘लोक’ (by people)

• लिङ्गाकारम्: having the form of a liṅga
• लिङ्गाकारम्: Karman (Object complement/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लिङ्गाकार (प्रातिपदिक; लिङ्ग + आकार)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘लिङ्गस्य आकारः’

• विप्रशापात्: from/owing to a brahmin’s curse
• विप्रशापात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्रशाप (प्रातिपदिक; विप्र + शाप)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (हेतु/ablative of cause), एकवचन; ‘विप्रस्य शापः’

• महत्: great
• महत्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘दुःखम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• दुःखम्: sorrow
• दुःखम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अवाप्स्यति: will obtain/experience
• अवाप्स्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Pārvatī (continuing the pronouncement)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva is shown taking on an ashmamaya (stone-like) condition, socially ‘reviled,’ then crystallizing into a liṅga due to a brāhmaṇa’s curse; the scene balances pathos with sacred inevitability.

Characters & Entities

• Hara (Śiva)
• Brāhmaṇa (Vipra)
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma emphasizes the moral power of tapas and speech; even gods are portrayed as respecting the force of a brāhmaṇa’s curse.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate verse does not name the tīrtha; it supports a māhātmya narrative that typically culminates in a sacred site’s sanctification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here, though liṅga-form is invoked as a devotional focus.