Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

कपालेश्वरसंज्ञस्तु कथं देवोऽत्र संस्थितः । ब्रह्महत्या कथं नष्टा तत्प्रभावाद्दिवस्पतेः

Transliteration

kapāleśvarasaṃjñastu kathaṃ devo'tra saṃsthitaḥ | brahmahatyā kathaṃ naṣṭā tatprabhāvāddivaspateḥ

Translation

Comment la divinité est-elle établie ici sous le nom de Kāpāleśvara ? Et comment la brahmahatyā d’Indra fut-elle détruite par la puissance de ce sanctuaire/de cette divinité ?

Word by Word

• kapāleśvarasaṃjñaḥ: named Kapāleśvara
• kapāleśvarasaṃjñaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kapāleśvara + saṃjña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifies devaḥ); तत्पुरुषः (कपालेश्वर इति संज्ञा यस्य)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• katham: how
• katham: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• devaḥ: the god
• devaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृपद

• atra: here
• atra: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: here)

• saṃsthitaḥ: is established/situated
• saṃsthitaḥ: Kriya (Predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃsthita (कृदन्त; sam-√sthā स्था)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विधेय (predicative: is situated)

• brahmahatyā: brahmin-slaying (sin)
• brahmahatyā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmahatyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृपद (of naṣṭā)

• katham: how
• katham: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय

• naṣṭā: was destroyed/vanished
• naṣṭā: Kriya (Predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: naṣṭa (कृदन्त; √naś नश्)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विधेय (has perished/been destroyed)

• tat: of that
• tat: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• prabhāvāt: from the power
• prabhāvāt: Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादान

• divaspateḥ: of Divaspati (Bṛhaspati)
• divaspateḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: divaspati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

Speaker

Ṛṣayaḥ (the sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāpāleśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages point toward a Śiva temple where the liṅga is revered as Kāpāleśvara; a subtle aura suggests the dissolution of Indra’s sin, with Indra shown humbled in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Kāpāleśvara
• Indra (Divaspati)
• Brahmahatyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Names and installations of tīrtha-deities are tied to moral causality: sin, repentance, and divine grace become embedded in place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāpāleśvara at Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra is the focal shrine.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse asks for the account of the deity’s स्थापना and the mechanism of purification; details are supplied in subsequent narration.