Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 99

Devanagari script

गताश्च परमां सिद्धिं कालेनाल्पेन दुर्लभाम् । भ्रूणरूपधरं देवं पूजयित्वा महेश्वरम्

Transliteration

gatāśca paramāṃ siddhiṃ kālenālpena durlabhām | bhrūṇarūpadharaṃ devaṃ pūjayitvā maheśvaram

Translation

അल्पകാലത്തിനുള്ളിൽ തന്നെ അവർ പരമവും ദുർലഭവുമായ സിദ്ധി പ്രാപിച്ചു—ഭ്രൂണരൂപം ധരിച്ച മഹേശ്വരനെ പൂജിച്ചതിനാൽ।

Word by Word

• gatāḥ: (they) having gone / went
• gatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु) → gata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; past passive participle used predicatively

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

• paramām: supreme
• paramām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• siddhim: attainment, perfection
• siddhim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: siddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• kālena: by (the passage of) time
• kālena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण/हेतु-भाव

• alpena: small, short
• alpena: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: alpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; विशेषण (कालेन सह)

• durlabhām: hard to obtain
• durlabhām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durlabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (सिद्धिम्)

• bhrūṇa-rūpa-dharam: bearing the form of an embryo
• bhrūṇa-rūpa-dharam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhrūṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/उपपद-समास: भ्रूणस्य रूपं धारयति इति; विशेषण (देवम्)

• devam: the god
• devam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• pūjayitvā: having worshipped
• pūjayitvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pūj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया

• maheśvaram: Maheshvara (Śiva)
• maheśvaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; देवस्य विशेषनाम

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (within Sūta’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhrūṇagarta

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/Brāhmaṇas (addressed as viprendra in adjacent verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims approach a revered earthen pit (garta) sanctified by Śiva’s mysterious ‘bhrūṇa-rūpa’; lamps, bilva leaves, and water offerings surround the pit as worship culminates in a sense of sudden spiritual breakthrough.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśvara (Śiva)
• Bhrūṇarūpadhara (Śiva in a special form)
• dvijas (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Focused worship of Śiva at a sanctified site yields rare spiritual attainment, emphasizing grace joined with disciplined devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bhrūṇagarta, where Maheśvara is revered in a distinctive ‘Bhrūṇa-form’ linked to the site’s legend.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pūjā (worship) of Maheśvara—specifically in his Bhrūṇarūpadhara manifestation—is stated as the practice leading to siddhi.