Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । तुष्टोस्मि तव विप्रेंद्राखंडबिल्वदलार्चनात् । वृणीष्वाभिमतं यत्ते दास्यम्यपि च दुर्लभम्

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tuṣṭosmi tava vipreṃdrākhaṃḍabilvadalārcanāt | vṛṇīṣvābhimataṃ yatte dāsyamyapi ca durlabham

Translation

ഈശ്വരൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—ഹേ വിപ്രേന്ദ്രാ! അഖണ്ഡ ബില്വദളാർച്ചനത്താൽ ഞാൻ തൃപ്തനാകുന്നു. നിനക്കിഷ്ടമായ വരം ചോദിക്ക; ദുർലഭമായതും ഞാൻ നൽകും.

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (Lord Śiva)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tuṣṭaḥ: pleased, satisfied
• tuṣṭaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tuṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √tuṣ)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• asmi: I am
• asmi: Kriya (Copula/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• tava: of you, your
• tava: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• vipra-indra-akhaṇḍa-bilva-dala-arcana-āt: from/because of (your) worship with unbroken bilva leaves, O best brāhmaṇa
• vipra-indra-akhaṇḍa-bilva-dala-arcana-āt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक) + akhaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + bilva (प्रातिपदिक) + dala (प्रातिपदिक) + arcana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/ablative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास; हेतौ पञ्चमी (ablative of cause): 'because of the worship with unbroken bilva-leaves (done by you, O best of brāhmaṇas)'

• vṛṇīṣva: choose
• vṛṇīṣva: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• abhimatam: the desired (boon)
• abhimatam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhimata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √man with abhi-)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'desired' used substantively

• yat: which
• yat: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी (4th/dative), एकवचन

• dāsyāmi: I will give
• dāsyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• api: even, also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle): 'also/even'

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

• durlabham: rare, hard to obtain
• durlabham: Karman (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durlabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (abhimatam/yat)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Viprendra (best of brāhmaṇas), the devotee-narrator

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva addresses the brāhmaṇa devotee, praising the unbroken bilva-leaf worship and inviting him to choose even a rare boon.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Bilva leaves
• Brāhmaṇa devotee

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pure offerings made with faith can draw Śiva’s pleasure and open the way to divine boons.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse glorifies the act of bilva-leaf worship itself.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śiva explicitly praises arcanā using unbroken bilva leaves (akhaṇḍa bilva-dala).