Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

ततो मया बालभावाद्भक्ष्यलुब्धेन तत्पितुः । घृतकुंभांतराकृष्य भद्रलिंगं समर्पितम्

Transliteration

tato mayā bālabhāvādbhakṣyalubdhena tatpituḥ | ghṛtakuṃbhāṃtarākṛṣya bhadraliṃgaṃ samarpitam

Translation

Then I—childish and greedy for food—pulled it from inside his father’s pot of ghee and offered that auspicious liṅga.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/अनन्तरम् (thereupon/then)

• मया: by me
• मया: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• बालभावात्: due to childishness
• बालभावात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल + भाव (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (हेतु), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (बालस्य भावः)

• भक्ष्यलुब्धेन: greedy for food
• भक्ष्यलुब्धेन: Karta (Agent qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भक्ष्य + लुब्ध (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (भक्ष्ये लुब्धः = greedy for food); कर्तृविशेषणम्

• तत्: of him
• तत्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘तस्य’ अर्थे

• पितुः: of (his/my) father
• पितुः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• घृतकुम्भान्तरात्: from inside the ghee-pot
• घृतकुम्भान्तरात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घृत + कुम्भ + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (घृतस्य कुम्भः, तस्य अन्तरम्)

• आकृष्य: having pulled out
• आकृष्य: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-कृष् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त; ‘having pulled out/drawn’

• भद्रलिङ्गम्: the auspicious liṅga
• भद्रलिङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भद्र + लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (भद्रं लिङ्गम्)

• समर्पितम्: offered
• समर्पितम्: Karma (Object state/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-र्प्/अर्प् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘offered/handed over’

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (the one recounting a former act)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The child reaches into a large ghee pot, pulls out the gleaming auspicious liṅga slick with ghee, and places it reverently into the elder’s hands or before the shrine—guilt turning into surrender.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (via liṅga)
• Ghṛta (ghee)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇic theme that contact with sacred objects—especially the Śiva-liṅga—can generate merit even when the initial motive is immature.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a backstory supporting the later māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly introduces ghṛta (ghee) as a sacred substance associated with liṅga worship, developed further in later verses.