Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 177

Devanagari script

चतुर्धा पूरयेल्लिङ्गं तस्य पुण्यफलं शृणु । ब्रह्महत्या सुरापानं स्तेयं गुर्वङ्गनागमः

Transliteration

caturdhā pūrayelliṅgaṃ tasya puṇyaphalaṃ śṛṇu | brahmahatyā surāpānaṃ steyaṃ gurvaṅganāgamaḥ

Translation

Qu’on comble le liṅga par quatre sortes d’offrandes ; écoute le fruit méritoire qui en découle. Les grands péchés sont : tuer un brāhmaṇa, boire des enivrants, voler et s’approcher de l’épouse de son guru.

Word by Word

• चतुर्धा: in four ways/fourfold
• चतुर्धा: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चतुर्धा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• पूरयेत्: should fill/complete
• पूरयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूरय् (धातु, णिजन्त; √पॄ/पूर् caus.)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (should fill/complete, 3rd sg)

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga (Śiva emblem)
• लिङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन (acc sg)

• तस्य: of that/its
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन (gen sg)

• पुण्यफलम्: meritorious result
• पुण्यफलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन (acc sg); समासः—पुण्यस्य फलम् (determinative)

• शृणु: hear
• शृणु: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (imperative, 2nd sg)

• ब्रह्महत्या: brahmin-slaying
• ब्रह्महत्या: Karta (Listed item/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + हत्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (nom sg); समासः—ब्रह्मणः हत्या (killing of a brāhmaṇa)

• सुरापानम्: drinking liquor
• सुरापानम्: Karta (Listed item/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरा + पान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (nom sg); समासः—सुरायाः पानम् (drinking liquor)

• स्तेयम्: theft
• स्तेयम्: Karta (Listed item/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्तेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (nom sg)

• गुरु-अङ्गना-आगमः: approaching the guru’s wife (adultery)
• गुरु-अङ्गना-आगमः: Karta (Listed item/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु + अङ्गना + आगम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (nom sg); समासः—गुरोः अङ्गनायाः आगमः (approaching the teacher's wife)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (didactic narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā-liṅga-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Śiva-liṅga on a riverbank shrine being ‘filled’/bathed in four ways—streams of water, milk, ghee, and honey (or water in four vessels), with priests chanting; the Narmadā flowing nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva-liṅga
• mahāpāpa (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śaiva worship is framed as transformative and purificatory, while dharma is guarded by naming the gravest transgressions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing Revākhaṇḍa Narmadā tīrtha context; the verse shifts to liṅga-worship connected to the tīrtha’s merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A “fourfold” act of filling/offering to the liṅga (caturdhā pūrayet liṅgam), presented as a potent religious observance.