Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

संतप्तहेम कलशैर्बहुभिर्विचित्रैः प्रोद्भासितस्फटिकसौधतलाभिरामम् । रम्यं च तच्छिवपुरं वरपीठमध्ये लिंगं च रत्नसहितं स ददर्श बालः

Transliteration

saṃtaptahema kalaśairbahubhirvicitraiḥ prodbhāsitasphaṭikasaudhatalābhirāmam | ramyaṃ ca tacchivapuraṃ varapīṭhamadhye liṃgaṃ ca ratnasahitaṃ sa dadarśa bālaḥ

Translation

L’enfant vit la belle cité de Śiva, ornée de nombreux faîtages merveilleux d’or ardent et rendue charmante par l’éclat des palais de cristal ; et, au milieu d’un piédestal splendide, un liṅga serti de gemmes.

Word by Word

• saṃtapta-hema-kalaśaiḥ: with heated golden pots
• saṃtapta-hema-kalaśaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃtapta (कृदन्त, √tap) + hema (प्रातिपदिक) + kalaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण/Instrumental), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (saṃtapta-hema-kalaśa = ‘heated-gold pots’)

• bahubhiḥ: many
• bahubhiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (kalaśaiḥ इत्यस्य)

• vicitraiḥ: variegated, wonderful
• vicitraiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vicitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (kalaśaiḥ इत्यस्य)

• prodbhāsita-sphaṭika-saudha-tala-ābhirāmam: beautiful with radiant crystal-palace floors
• prodbhāsita-sphaṭika-saudha-tala-ābhirāmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prodbhāsita (कृदन्त, √bhās) + sphaṭika (प्रातिपदिक) + saudha (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक) + ābhirāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म/Object), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (tacchivapuraṃ इत्यस्य); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (prodbhāsita-sphaṭika-saudha-tala-ābhirāma = ‘beautiful with crystal-palace floors made radiant’)

• ramyam: lovely
• ramyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ramya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (tacchivapuraṃ इत्यस्य)

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

• tat-śiva-puram: that city of Śiva
• tat-śiva-puram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + pura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (śiva-pura = ‘Śiva’s city’; tat- = ‘that’)

• vara-pīṭha-madhye: in the middle of the excellent pedestal
• vara-pīṭha-madhye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक) + pīṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (vara-pīṭha-madhya = ‘in the middle of the excellent pedestal’)

• liṅgam: the liṅga
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

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

• ratna-sahitam: accompanied by gems
• ratna-sahitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ratna (प्रातिपदिक) + sahita (कृदन्त, √sah)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (liṅgam इत्यस्य); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (ratna-sahita = ‘accompanied with gems’)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता/Subject), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dadarśa: saw
• dadarśa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• bālaḥ: the boy
• bālaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अप्पोजिशन (saḥ इत्यस्य)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Brahmottarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śivapura (visionary kṣetra) / Ratna-liṅga on Varapīṭha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A young boy beholds a resplendent Śiva-city: crystal palaces gleam; many heated-gold finials crown the roofs; at the center stands a splendid pedestal bearing a jewel-set liṅga, radiating calm power.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Śiva-pura
• Liṅga
• Bālaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana of the liṅga and the Lord’s abode is portrayed as a gift of grace responding to devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named geographical tīrtha appears; the passage glorifies the archetypal sacred abode of Śiva and the liṅga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse centers on the vision of the liṅga upon a pedestal.