Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

अथ संपूजयामास यल्लिंगं स्थापितं पुरा । अर्जुनेश्वर संज्ञं तु पुष्पधूपानुलेपनैः

Transliteration

atha saṃpūjayāmāsa yalliṃgaṃ sthāpitaṃ purā | arjuneśvara saṃjñaṃ tu puṣpadhūpānulepanaiḥ

Translation

പിന്നീട് പുരാതനകാലത്ത് സ്ഥാപിച്ച ‘അർജുനേശ്വര’ എന്ന നാമമുള്ള ലിംഗത്തെ പുഷ്പം, ധൂപം, സുഗന്ധാനുലേപനം എന്നിവകൊണ്ട് വിധിപൂർവ്വം പൂജിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse connector/अनन्तर)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भ/अनन्तरार्थक-निपात (then/now)

• saṃpūjayāmāsa: worshipped
• saṃpūjayāmāsa: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√pūj (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; अर्थे—पूजयामास (he worshipped)

• yat: which
• yat: Visheshana (Relative modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-विशेषण (relative pronoun qualifying liṅgam)

• liṅgam: liṅga (Śiva emblem)
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• sthāpitam: established
• sthāpitam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु)
• Form: भूतकालिक कृदन्त (क्त/PPP); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि—स्थापितम् (having been established)

• purā: formerly
• purā: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (formerly/once)

• arjuna-īśvara: Arjuneśvara (name)
• arjuna-īśvara: Samjna (Name/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arjuna (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: अर्जुनस्य ईश्वरः / अर्जुन-ईश्वरः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नाम (proper name)

• saṃjñam: named
• saṃjñam: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃjñā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम्—संज्ञम् (named/called)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक-निपात (but/indeed)

• puṣpa-dhūpa-anulepanaiḥ: with flowers, incense, and unguents
• puṣpa-dhūpa-anulepanaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + anulepana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (समाहार/इतरेतर: पुष्पं धूपः अनुलेपनं च); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; करणत्वे (with flowers, incense, and unguents)

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (contextual; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arjuneśvara

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience/inquirer (unspecified)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Arjuna stands before a black stone liṅga on a yoni-pīṭha, offering garlands, incense smoke curling upward, and sandal paste; lamps flicker in a sanctum with carved pillars.

Characters & Entities

• Arjuneśvara
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Anciently established liṅgas are to be honored with simple, sincere offerings; continuity of worship sustains the sanctity of the kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Arjuneśvara—an established Śiva-liṅga within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-pūjā using puṣpa (flowers), dhūpa (incense), and anulepana (fragrant anointing/unguents).