Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 99

Devanagari script

गताश्च परमां सिद्धिं कालेनाल्पेन दुर्लभाम् । भ्रूणरूपधरं देवं पूजयित्वा महेश्वरम्

Transliteration

gatāśca paramāṃ siddhiṃ kālenālpena durlabhām | bhrūṇarūpadharaṃ devaṃ pūjayitvā maheśvaram

Translation

Und in kurzer Zeit erlangten sie die höchste, schwer zu erringende Siddhi, nachdem sie Maheśvara verehrt hatten, den Herrn, der die mit Bhrūṇa (dem Embryo) verbundene Gestalt annahm.

Word by Word

• gatāḥ: (they) having gone / went
• gatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु) → gata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; past passive participle used predicatively

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

• paramām: supreme
• paramām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• siddhim: attainment, perfection
• siddhim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: siddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• kālena: by (the passage of) time
• kālena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण/हेतु-भाव

• alpena: small, short
• alpena: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: alpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; विशेषण (कालेन सह)

• durlabhām: hard to obtain
• durlabhām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durlabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (सिद्धिम्)

• bhrūṇa-rūpa-dharam: bearing the form of an embryo
• bhrūṇa-rūpa-dharam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhrūṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/उपपद-समास: भ्रूणस्य रूपं धारयति इति; विशेषण (देवम्)

• devam: the god
• devam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• pūjayitvā: having worshipped
• pūjayitvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pūj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया

• maheśvaram: Maheshvara (Śiva)
• maheśvaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; देवस्य विशेषनाम

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (within Sūta’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhrūṇagarta

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/Brāhmaṇas (addressed as viprendra in adjacent verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims approach a revered earthen pit (garta) sanctified by Śiva’s mysterious ‘bhrūṇa-rūpa’; lamps, bilva leaves, and water offerings surround the pit as worship culminates in a sense of sudden spiritual breakthrough.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśvara (Śiva)
• Bhrūṇarūpadhara (Śiva in a special form)
• dvijas (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Focused worship of Śiva at a sanctified site yields rare spiritual attainment, emphasizing grace joined with disciplined devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bhrūṇagarta, where Maheśvara is revered in a distinctive ‘Bhrūṇa-form’ linked to the site’s legend.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pūjā (worship) of Maheśvara—specifically in his Bhrūṇarūpadhara manifestation—is stated as the practice leading to siddhi.