Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 162

Devanagari script

फेनपाः फेनजं लिंगं नाम चापि सुदुर्विदम् । कपिलो वालुकालिंगं वरदं च जपन्हरम्

Transliteration

phenapāḥ phenajaṃ liṃgaṃ nāma cāpi sudurvidam | kapilo vālukāliṃgaṃ varadaṃ ca japanharam

Translation

فینپاؤں نے جھاگ سے پیدا لِنگ بنایا—اس کا نام بھی نہایت دشوار فہم ہے۔ کپِل نے ریت (والُکا) کا لِنگ بنایا اور اسے ‘وَرَد’ یعنی عطا کرنے والا، اور ‘جپ ہَر’ یعنی جپ کا بوجھ دور کرنے والا/جپ کو کمال تک پہنچانے والا کہہ کر جپا۔

Word by Word

• phenapāḥ: foam-drinkers (Phenapās)
• phenapāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phena + pā (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); ‘pā’ = ‘drinker’

• phenajam: born of foam
• phenajam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: phena + ja (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• liṅgam: liṅga
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• nāma: named
• nāma: Viśeṣaṇa (Appositional/नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc. 1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); नामनिर्देशार्थे

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

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्यय (particle; ‘also/even’)

• sudurvidam: very hard to know
• sudurvidam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + durvida (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• kapilaḥ: Kapila
• kapilaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• vālukāliṅgam: the sand-liṅga
• vālukāliṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vālukā + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• varadam: boon-giving
• varadam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: varada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• japanharam: removing (sins/obstacles) through chanting
• japanharam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: japan + hara (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); ‘japan’ = ‘chanting’ (from √jap), ‘hara’ = ‘remover’

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Phena-ja liṅga (name ‘Sudurvidam’) and Kapila’s Vāluka-liṅga (‘Varada’, ‘Japa-hara’)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Phenapas raise a shimmering foam-liṅga at the edge of churning water, its form half-emergent and mysterious; sage Kapila, tawny and ascetic, shapes a liṅga from sand on a riverbank, offering water and chanting, naming it Varada and Japa-hara.

Characters & Entities

• Phenapāḥ
• Kapila
• Śiva (Liṅga)
• Varada
• Japa-hara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva accepts diverse modes of worship; sincere practice like japa is sanctified and brought to fruition by his grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is explicitly named in this verse; it continues a catalog of liṅga manifestations.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Japa is alluded to through the epithet “Japa-hara,” but no detailed prescription is given.