Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 104

Devanagari script

स्वनामकानि चिह्नानि तेषां लिंगानि संति च । एते किं त्वभवत्मूर्खास्त्वं तु सत्यव्रतः सुधीः

Transliteration

svanāmakāni cihnāni teṣāṃ liṃgāni saṃti ca | ete kiṃ tvabhavatmūrkhāstvaṃ tu satyavrataḥ sudhīḥ

Translation

Leurs signes portant leurs propres noms existent aussi : ce sont leurs liṅga. Tous seraient-ils des insensés, et toi seul un sage voué à la vérité ?

Word by Word

• स्व: own
• स्व: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्राय विशेषण (indeclinable-like adjective) ‘own’; समासाङ्ग

• नामकानि: having their own names
• नामकानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नामक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ‘स्व-नामक’ = स्वं नाम यस्य (own-named)

• चिह्नानि: marks / signs
• चिह्नानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिह्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• लिङ्गानि: liṅgas
• लिङ्गानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• सन्ति: exist / are
• सन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

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

• एते: these (people)
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• किम्: why? / what?
• किम्: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय (interrogative particle)

• तु: but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषण-अव्यय (adversative/emphatic particle)

• अभवत्: became / happened
• अभवत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• मूर्खाः: fools
• मूर्खाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) / Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूर्ख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; (सम्बोधनार्थेऽपि प्रयोगः)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तु: however
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषण-अव्यय (adversative/emphatic particle)

• सत्यव्रतः: one whose vow is truth / truthful-vowed
• सत्यव्रतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्य + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सत्यस्य व्रतम्)

• सुधीः: wise
• सुधीः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + धी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘सु-धी’ = good-minded

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher admonishes a skeptical interlocutor; behind them, a panorama of multiple liṅgas each labeled with a deity/epithet, showing ‘name-bearing marks’ across a sacred landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga
• Cihna (emblem/mark)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred signs and emblems are meaningful within dharma; dismissing them is portrayed as arrogance rather than wisdom.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse supports the legitimacy of liṅga and emblem-based worship.