Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । एवं समर्पितं लिंगं तेन तद्धरसंभवम् । सर्वेषां ब्राह्मणेंद्राणां वंशोच्छेदे स्थिते द्विजाः

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | evaṃ samarpitaṃ liṃgaṃ tena taddharasaṃbhavam | sarveṣāṃ brāhmaṇeṃdrāṇāṃ vaṃśocchede sthite dvijāḥ

Translation

Sūta dit : « Ainsi, ce liṅga—né du porteur—fut confié par lui. Ô deux-fois-nés, lorsque les lignées de tous ces brāhmaṇas éminents en vinrent au bord de l’extinction… »

Word by Word

• सूतः: Sūta
• सूतः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Speech act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-visheshana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक

• समर्पितम्: offered, presented
• समर्पितम्: Karta-anvayi (Predicate/attribute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-arp (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘लिङ्गम्’ इति विशेषणम्

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga
• लिङ्गम्: Karma/Pratipadya (Topic/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तेन: by him/thereby
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/Agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• तत्-धर-संभवम्: arisen from that bearer (i.e., from Śiva/that source)
• तत्-धर-संभवम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad + dhara + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तत्-धरस्य संभवः)

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• सर्वेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• ब्राह्मण-इन्द्राणाम्: of the chief Brahmins
• ब्राह्मण-इन्द्राणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa + indra (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘ब्राह्मणानाम् इन्द्राः’)

• वंश-उच्छेदे: in the extinction of the lineage
• वंश-उच्छेदे: Adhikarana (Condition/Time locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṃśa + uccheda (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘वंशस्य उच्छेदः’)

• स्थिते: when (it) had occurred/when situated
• स्थिते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘उच्छेदे’ इत्यस्मिन् सति (locative absolute sense)

• द्विजाः: twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (dvijāḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta addressing an assembly of brāhmaṇas; beside him, a revered liṅga symbolically ‘entrusted’ for protection, while the narrative hints at fading family lines and the need to safeguard the sacred legacy.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Śiva (liṅga)
• Brāhmaṇas
• Lineage extinction (vaṃśoccheda)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even amid social decline (vaṃśoccheda), sacred trust and worship of the liṅga preserve religious continuity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse continues a local liṅga-māhātmya within Nāgara Khaṇḍa; the excerpt itself does not specify the site-name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it frames the narrative context of the liṅga being formally entrusted (samarpita).