Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 181

Devanagari script

राजमाषमयं यक्षा नाम भूतपतिं स्मृतम् । तिलान्नजं च पितरो नाम वृषपतिस्तथा

Transliteration

rājamāṣamayaṃ yakṣā nāma bhūtapatiṃ smṛtam | tilānnajaṃ ca pitaro nāma vṛṣapatistathā

Translation

யக்ஷர்கள் ராஜமாஷம் (ஒருவகை பயறு) கொண்டு ஆன லிங்கத்தை வழிபட்டு, அதை ‘பூதபதி’—உயிர்களின் அதிபதி—என்று நினைவுகூர்கிறார்கள். பித்ருக்கள் எள்ளன்னம் (எள்-சோறு நைவேத்யம்) மூலம் தோன்றிய லிங்கத்தை வழிபடுகின்றனர்; அது ‘விருஷபதி’ என்ற பெயராலும் புகழ்பெற்றது.

Word by Word

• राजमाषमयम्: made of rājamāṣa (a kind of bean)
• राजमाषमयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राजमाषमय (प्रातिपदिक; राजमाष+मय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (neuter, accusative singular; adjective)

• यक्षाः: the Yakṣas
• यक्षाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (masculine, nominative plural)

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Appellation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: नामनिर्देशक-अव्यय (appellative indeclinable)

• भूतपतिम्: lord of beings/spirits
• भूतपतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूतपति (प्रातिपदिक; भूत+पति)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (masculine, accusative singular)

• स्मृतम्: is remembered; is called
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे 'is remembered/called' (past passive participle, neuter sg.)

• तिलान्नजम्: born of sesame-food; made from sesame-rice/food
• तिलान्नजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तिलान्नज (प्रातिपदिक; तिल+अन्न+ज)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (neuter, accusative singular; adjective)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• पितरः: the Pitṛs (ancestors)
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (masculine, nominative plural)

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Appellation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: नामनिर्देशक-अव्यय (appellative indeclinable)

• वृषपतिः: Vṛṣapati (name; lord of the bull)
• वृषपतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषपति (प्रातिपदिक; वृष+पति)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (masculine, nominative singular)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/समुच्चय-अव्यय (adverb: likewise)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narrative style)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yakṣas, jewel-adorned forest guardians, offer a dark bean-made liṅga; nearby, pitṛs as luminous ancestral figures receive sesame-rice offerings beside a liṅga named Vṛṣapati, with a calm cremation-ground/riverbank edge implied.

Characters & Entities

• Yakṣas
• Pitṛs
• Bhūtapati
• Vṛṣapati

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All classes of beings approach Śiva through devotion, and even simple offerings become sacred when consecrated as liṅga-worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is specified in this verse; it praises the universality of Śiva’s worship across cosmic communities.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies liṅga-pūjā using specific sacred substances (rājamāṣa; sesame-rice offering) associated with particular worshippers.