Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

विभूतिधारिणो भक्त्या रुद्रसूक्तजपप्रियान् । लिंगाराधनसंसक्ताञ्छिवनामकृतादरान्

Transliteration

vibhūtidhāriṇo bhaktyā rudrasūktajapapriyān | liṃgārādhanasaṃsaktāñchivanāmakṛtādarān

Translation

وہ عقیدت سے وِبھوتی (مقدّس راکھ) لگاتے، رُدر سوکت کے جپ میں مسرور رہتے؛ لِنگ کی پوجا میں محو اور شِو کے نام کے لیے سراپا ادب تھے۔

Word by Word

• विभूतिधारिणः: those who bear sacred ash
• विभूतिधारिणः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विभूति (प्रातिपदिक) + धारिन् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘धारिणः’ (धृ धातोः, णिनि-प्रत्यय)

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; साधन/हेतु-भावे

• रुद्रसूक्तजपप्रियान्: fond of reciting the Rudra-hymn
• रुद्रसूक्तजपप्रियान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + सूक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + जप (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘जपप्रिय’ = जपे प्रियः

• लिङ्गाराधनसंसक्तान्: attached to worship of the liṅga
• लिङ्गाराधनसंसक्तान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + आराधन (प्रातिपदिक) + संसक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; ‘संसक्त’ = सम्+सञ्ज्/ससज् (क्त) — आसक्त/लग्न

• शिवनामकृतादरान्: showing reverence for the name ‘Śiva’
• शिवनामकृतादरान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + नाम (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + आदर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; ‘कृतादर’ = आदरः कृतः येषाम् (भावे)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; likely Skanda speaking within Kāśīkhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viśveśvara (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (traditionally sages/śaunaka-type assembly)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of Kāśī devotees with tripuṇḍra and vibhūti, seated near a liṅga shrine, softly chanting Rudra-hymns while offering water and bilva leaves; lamps flicker and incense curls upward.

Characters & Entities

• Vibhūti (sacred ash)
• Rudra-sūkta
• Liṅga
• Śiva-nāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion is expressed through embodied practice—sacred ash, mantra-japa, liṅga worship, and reverence for Śiva’s name.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this verse; it continues the Naimiṣāraṇya assembly context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Rudra-sūkta japa, liṅgārādhana (liṅga worship), and the devotional bearing of vibhūti are explicitly described.