Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

कपालधारी दिग्वासाः कपाली तेन च स्मृतः । तन्मया पूजितं लिंगं वर्षाणामयुतं प्रिये

Transliteration

kapāladhārī digvāsāḥ kapālī tena ca smṛtaḥ | tanmayā pūjitaṃ liṃgaṃ varṣāṇāmayutaṃ priye

Translation

کھوپڑی دھارے اور دِشاؤں کو ہی لباس بنائے (دِگمبَر) رہنے کے سبب وہ ‘کپالی’ کے نام سے یاد کیا جاتا ہے۔ اے محبوبہ، اس لِنگ کی میں نے دس ہزار برس تک پوجا کی۔

Word by Word

• kapāladhārī: skull-bearer
• kapāladhārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapāla-dhārin (प्रातिपदिक; कपाल + धारिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृपद-रूपे (epithet)

• digvāsāḥ: sky-clad; naked
• digvāsāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dik-vāsas (प्रातिपदिक; दिक् + वासस्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृपद-रूपे (epithet; 'clad in directions' = naked)

• kapālī: Kapālī
• kapālī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapālin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृपद-रूपे

• tena: therefore; by that
• tena: Karana (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; हेतु/करण (therefore/by that)

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

• smṛtaḥ: was known/called
• smṛtaḥ: Kriya (Passive predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे (was called/remembered)

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying liṅgam)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Agentive instr./करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया, एकवचन; कर्तृ-निर्देश (agent)

• pūjitam: worshipped
• pūjitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūj (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying liṅgam)

• liṅgam: liṅga (Śiva emblem)
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म (object of implied action 'pūjitam')

• varṣāṇām: of years
• varṣāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive with measure)

• ayutam: ten thousand
• ayutam: Karma (Extent/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ayuta (प्रातिपदिक; numeral)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; परिमाण (measure/extent)

• priye: O beloved
• priye: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; संबोधनम्

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (explicit in nearby passage; continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapālī-liṅga / Kapālīśa-liṅga (implied) in Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī/Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva as a sky-clad ascetic, skull in hand, worshipping a radiant liṅga for ten thousand years; the liṅga glows as the axis of the kṣetra, surrounded by quiet gaṇas and a sanctified coastal grove.

Characters & Entities

• Kapālī
• Liṅga (Kapālīśvara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s fierce-yet-auspicious forms are honored through steady worship; sustained pūjā intensifies the holiness of a place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the Kapālī aspect and his liṅga are celebrated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship (pūjā) of the liṅga is emphasized, presented as prolonged and devoted practice.