Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

केचित्कृशा ह्रस्वदीर्घाः केचित्स्थूलमहोदराः । व्याघ्रेभमेषाजमुखा नानाप्राणिमहामुखाः

Transliteration

kecitkṛśā hrasvadīrghāḥ kecitsthūlamahodarāḥ | vyāghrebhameṣājamukhā nānāprāṇimahāmukhāḥ

Translation

كان منهم من هو نحيل، ومنهم قصير أو طويل؛ ومنهم غليظ الجسد عظيم البطن. ومنهم من له وجوه كوجوه النمور أو الفيلة أو الكباش أو الماعز—كائنات عظيمة الوجوه على صور شتى من المخلوقات.

Word by Word

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim + cit (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• kṛśāḥ: thin
• kṛśāḥ: Karta (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्

• hrasva-dīrghāḥ: short and tall
• hrasva-dīrghāḥ: Karta (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hrasva (प्रातिपदिक) + dīrgha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; द्वन्द्वः (short and tall/long)

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim + cit (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्

• sthūla-mahā-udarāḥ: fat, big-bellied
• sthūla-mahā-udarāḥ: Karta (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthūla (प्रातिपदिक) + mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + udara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; कर्मधारयः (sthūlaś ca mahā ca udaraḥ)

• vyāghra-ibha-meṣa-aja-mukhāḥ: having faces like tiger/elephant/ram/goat
• vyāghra-ibha-meṣa-aja-mukhāḥ: Karta (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyāghra (प्रातिपदिक) + ibha (प्रातिपदिक) + meṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + aja (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; बहुव्रीहिः (vyāghrasya ibhasya meṣasya ajasya iva mukhāni yeṣām)

• nānā-prāṇi-mahā-mukhāḥ: having great faces of various creatures
• nānā-prāṇi-mahā-mukhāḥ: Karta (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + prāṇin (प्रातिपदिक) + mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; बहुव्रीहिः (nānāvidha-prāṇi-sadṛśa-mahāmukhāni yeṣām)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A clustered assembly of gaṇas: some emaciated, some stout-bellied; heights vary; faces resemble tiger, elephant, ram, goat—an overwhelming panorama of many species fused into sacred attendants.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva’s gaṇas (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s divine entourage transcends ordinary forms, suggesting that the sacred includes the fierce, the strange, and the many-shaped.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is named; the focus is on gaṇa-varṇana (description of Śiva’s attendants).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.