Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

चारुदेष्णादिभिः पुत्रै रुक्मिण्या दशभिः सुतैः । लिंगानां दशकं मुख्यं स्थापितं श्रद्धयान्वितैः

Transliteration

cārudeṣṇādibhiḥ putrai rukmiṇyā daśabhiḥ sutaiḥ | liṃgānāṃ daśakaṃ mukhyaṃ sthāpitaṃ śraddhayānvitaiḥ

Translation

ചാരുദേഷ്ണ മുതലായ പുത്രന്മാരോടുകൂടെ രുക്മിണിയുടെ പത്ത് പുത്രന്മാർ ശ്രദ്ധയോടെ പ്രധാനമായ പത്ത് ശിവലിംഗങ്ങൾ സ്ഥാപിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• चारुदेष्णादिभिः: by Cārudeṣṇā and others
• चारुदेष्णादिभिः: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चारुदेष्णा (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (आदि-समास: “Cārudeṣṇā and others”); पुंलिङ्ग (पुत्र-सम्बन्धेन), तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन

• पुत्रैः: by (his) sons
• पुत्रैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन

• रुक्मिण्या: by Rukmiṇī
• रुक्मिण्या: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुक्मिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• दशभिः: with ten
• दशभिः: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशन्/दश (संख्याशब्द, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषणम् सुतैः (with ten...)

• सुतैः: by sons
• सुतैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन

• लिङ्गानाम्: of liṅgas
• लिङ्गानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन (Genitive plural)

• दशकम्: a set of ten
• दशकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• मुख्यम्: principal, chief
• मुख्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषणम् दशकम् (principal)

• स्थापितम्: was installed
• स्थापितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु) + णिच्; स्थापित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; “was installed”

• श्रद्धया: with faith
• श्रद्धया: Karana (Instrument/Means करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रद्धा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• अन्वितैः: endowed (with), accompanied
• अन्वितैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्वित (कृदन्त; √इ ‘to go’ with अनु-; adjectival)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (पुत्रैः/सुतैः): “endowed with”

Speaker

Narrator (contextually Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Daśa-liṅga-pratiṣṭhā within Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rukmiṇī’s ten sons, led by Cārudeṣṇa, stand in reverent formation, each overseeing the placement of a liṅga; ten pedestals or ten small sanctums appear within a larger sacred precinct, with priests performing synchronized rites.

Characters & Entities

• Cārudeṣṇa
• Rukmiṇī
• Sons of Rukmiṇī
• Śiva-liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faith (śraddhā) sanctifies ritual action; establishing and honoring Śiva’s emblem at a holy site becomes a powerful dharmic act.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (as per the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya context).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-pratiṣṭhā (the consecration/ स्थापना of Śiva-liṅgas), specifically a principal set of ten liṅgas.