Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

लेपनाद्गंधधूपाद्यै नैवेद्येर्घृतपायसैः । ब्रह्मघ्नश्च सुरापश्च स्तेयी च गुरुतल्पगः

Transliteration

lepanādgaṃdhadhūpādyai naivedyerghṛtapāyasaiḥ | brahmaghnaśca surāpaśca steyī ca gurutalpagaḥ

Translation

以涂抹供养（为神像敷香），以芬芳、香烟等诸供品，并以酥油与甜乳饭等食供——即便是弑婆罗门者、饮酒者、盗贼，以及玷污师长床榻之重罪人——

Word by Word

• lepanāt: from/through anointing (smearing)
• lepanāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lepana (प्रातिपदिक; √lip लेपने)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; हेतौ/कारणार्थे (by/through)

• gandha-dhūpa-ādyaiḥ: with perfumes, incense, etc.
• gandha-dhūpa-ādyaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandha (प्रातिपदिक) + dhūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन; ‘गन्धधूपादि’ इति समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (etc. like perfumes and incense)

• naivedyaiḥ: with offerings (naivedya)
• naivedyaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naivedya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन

• ghṛta-pāyasaiḥ: with ghee and sweet rice-milk (pāyasa)
• ghṛta-pāyasaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + pāyasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (ghee and rice-milk/pudding)

• brahmaghnaḥ: a slayer of a Brahmin
• brahmaghnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + ghna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √han हनने, ‘घ्न’=killer)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (brahmaṇaḥ ghnaḥ)

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

• surāpaḥ: a drinker of liquor
• surāpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surā (प्रातिपदिक) + pa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √pā पाने, ‘प’=drinker)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (surāyāḥ pāḥ)

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

• steyī: a thief
• steyī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: steya (प्रातिपदिक; √stai/√styai स्तेये, theft)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘स्तेयी’ = चोरः (thief)

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

• gurutalpagaḥ: one who violates the guru’s bed (grave offender)
• gurutalpagaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक) + talpa (प्रातिपदिक) + ga (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √gam गत्यर्थे, ‘ग’=goer)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (guroḥ talpam gacchati iti)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jayāditya / Saurasthāna

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee performs Sūrya-pūjā: anointing the solar icon, offering fragrant paste, incense smoke curling upward, and presenting bowls of ghee and sweet rice; shadowy personifications of the four mahāpātakas recede and dissolve in the radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Jayāditya
• Sūrya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional worship performed with prescribed offerings is portrayed as transformative, capable of lifting even those burdened by the gravest sins.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The immediate context continues Koṭitīrtha/Jayāditya worship; the verse itself emphasizes the worship-method rather than naming a new site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Lepana (anointing), offering perfumes and incense, and naivedya such as ghṛta and pāyasa.