Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

घृतकंबलमाहात्म्यान्मकरस्थे दिवाकरे । अपि बाल्यादवज्ञानात्संयोगाद्घृतलिंगयोः

Transliteration

ghṛtakaṃbalamāhātmyānmakarasthe divākare | api bālyādavajñānātsaṃyogādghṛtaliṃgayoḥ

Translation

By the greatness of the ‘ghṛta-kambala’—the worship of covering the liṅga with ghee—when the Sun was in Makara (Capricorn), even through childish heedlessness, by the mere contact of ghee and the liṅga…

Word by Word

• घृतकंबलमाहात्म्यात्: due to the greatness of the ghee-blanket (rite)
• घृतकंबलमाहात्म्यात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घृतकंबल + माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (घृतकंबलस्य माहात्म्यम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative); एकवचन

• मकरस्थे: when (the sun) was in Capricorn
• मकरस्थे: Adhikarana (Time/astrological locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मकर + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (मकरे स्थितः); पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); एकवचन; ‘दिवाकरे’ इति विशेषण

• दिवाकरे: when the sun (was)
• दिवाकरे: Adhikarana (Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवाकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); एकवचन

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपेक्षा (also/even)

• बाल्यात्: from childhood
• बाल्यात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative); एकवचन

• अवज्ञानात्: from disrespect/neglect
• अवज्ञानात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative); एकवचन

• संयोगात्: from contact/association
• संयोगात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संयोग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative); एकवचन

• घृतलिंगयोः: of/with ghee and the liṅga (together)
• घृतलिंगयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घृत + लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (घृतं च लिङ्गं च); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी/सप्तमी द्विवचन (Genitive/Locative Dual)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (continuing explanation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ghṛta-kambala (rite/observance associated with liṅga)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Not specified (likely a sage/assembly within Purāṇic dialogue)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A child innocently smearing or touching ghee to a Śiva-liṅga as the Sun enters Makara; priests and lamps nearby; the liṅga gleams with a soft golden sheen from ghee.

Characters & Entities

• Divākara (Sun)
• Makara-saṅkrānti (implied)
• Śiva (via liṅga)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The māhātmya principle: sacred times (Makara season) and sacred objects (liṅga) magnify spiritual merit even when devotion is imperfect.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse emphasizes a time-based māhātmya (Makara period) rather than naming a particular pilgrimage site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Association of ghṛta (ghee) with the Śiva-liṅga—foreshadowing the practice of covering/worshiping the liṅga with ghee (ghṛtakambala).