Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

कपालधारी दिग्वासाः कपाली तेन च स्मृतः । तन्मया पूजितं लिंगं वर्षाणामयुतं प्रिये

Transliteration

kapāladhārī digvāsāḥ kapālī tena ca smṛtaḥ | tanmayā pūjitaṃ liṃgaṃ varṣāṇāmayutaṃ priye

Translation

Portant un crâne et vêtu des directions (revêtu du ciel), il est ainsi rappelé sous le nom de Kapālī. Ce liṅga, ô bien-aimée, je l’ai adoré durant dix mille ans.

Word by Word

• kapāladhārī: skull-bearer
• kapāladhārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapāla-dhārin (प्रातिपदिक; कपाल + धारिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृपद-रूपे (epithet)

• digvāsāḥ: sky-clad; naked
• digvāsāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dik-vāsas (प्रातिपदिक; दिक् + वासस्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृपद-रूपे (epithet; 'clad in directions' = naked)

• kapālī: Kapālī
• kapālī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapālin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृपद-रूपे

• tena: therefore; by that
• tena: Karana (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; हेतु/करण (therefore/by that)

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

• smṛtaḥ: was known/called
• smṛtaḥ: Kriya (Passive predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे (was called/remembered)

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying liṅgam)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Agentive instr./करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया, एकवचन; कर्तृ-निर्देश (agent)

• pūjitam: worshipped
• pūjitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūj (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying liṅgam)

• liṅgam: liṅga (Śiva emblem)
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म (object of implied action 'pūjitam')

• varṣāṇām: of years
• varṣāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive with measure)

• ayutam: ten thousand
• ayutam: Karma (Extent/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ayuta (प्रातिपदिक; numeral)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; परिमाण (measure/extent)

• priye: O beloved
• priye: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; संबोधनम्

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (explicit in nearby passage; continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapālī-liṅga / Kapālīśa-liṅga (implied) in Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī/Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva as a sky-clad ascetic, skull in hand, worshipping a radiant liṅga for ten thousand years; the liṅga glows as the axis of the kṣetra, surrounded by quiet gaṇas and a sanctified coastal grove.

Characters & Entities

• Kapālī
• Liṅga (Kapālīśvara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s fierce-yet-auspicious forms are honored through steady worship; sustained pūjā intensifies the holiness of a place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the Kapālī aspect and his liṅga are celebrated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship (pūjā) of the liṅga is emphasized, presented as prolonged and devoted practice.