Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

हरोऽप्यश्ममयं रूपं प्राप्य लोकविगर्हितम् । लिंगाकारं विप्रशापान्महद्दुःखमवाप्स्यति

Transliteration

haro'pyaśmamayaṃ rūpaṃ prāpya lokavigarhitam | liṃgākāraṃ vipraśāpānmahadduḥkhamavāpsyati

Translation

हरोऽपि विप्रशापात् अश्ममयं लोकविगर्हितं रूपं प्राप्य, लिङ्गाकारं गत्वा महद्दुःखमवाप्स्यति।

Word by Word

• हरः: Hara (Shiva)
• हरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (also/even)

• अश्ममयम्: made of stone
• अश्ममयम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अश्ममय (प्रातिपदिक; अश्मन् + मयट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अश्ममय’ = अश्मनः विकारः/मयः (made of stone)

• रूपम्: form
• रूपम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्राप्य: having attained
• प्राप्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) → प्राप्य (कृदन्त, ल्यप्/क्त्वान्त-समकक्ष)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘having obtained/attained’

• लोकविगर्हितम्: censured by the world
• लोकविगर्हितम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोकविगर्हित (प्रातिपदिक; लोक + विगर्हित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘विगर्हित’ (censured) + ‘लोक’ (by people)

• लिङ्गाकारम्: having the form of a liṅga
• लिङ्गाकारम्: Karman (Object complement/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लिङ्गाकार (प्रातिपदिक; लिङ्ग + आकार)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘लिङ्गस्य आकारः’

• विप्रशापात्: from/owing to a brahmin’s curse
• विप्रशापात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्रशाप (प्रातिपदिक; विप्र + शाप)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (हेतु/ablative of cause), एकवचन; ‘विप्रस्य शापः’

• महत्: great
• महत्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘दुःखम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• दुःखम्: sorrow
• दुःखम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अवाप्स्यति: will obtain/experience
• अवाप्स्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Pārvatī (continuing the pronouncement)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva is shown taking on an ashmamaya (stone-like) condition, socially ‘reviled,’ then crystallizing into a liṅga due to a brāhmaṇa’s curse; the scene balances pathos with sacred inevitability.

Characters & Entities

• Hara (Śiva)
• Brāhmaṇa (Vipra)
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma emphasizes the moral power of tapas and speech; even gods are portrayed as respecting the force of a brāhmaṇa’s curse.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate verse does not name the tīrtha; it supports a māhātmya narrative that typically culminates in a sacred site’s sanctification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here, though liṅga-form is invoked as a devotional focus.