Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

ततो मया बालभावाद्भक्ष्यलुब्धेन तत्पितुः । घृतकुंभांतराकृष्य भद्रलिंगं समर्पितम्

Transliteration

tato mayā bālabhāvādbhakṣyalubdhena tatpituḥ | ghṛtakuṃbhāṃtarākṛṣya bhadraliṃgaṃ samarpitam

Translation

Alors moi, par puérilité et par avidité de nourriture, je l’arrachai de l’intérieur du pot de ghee de son père et j’offris ce liṅga de bon augure.

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.