Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

स एव मूर्त्तश्चतुरुत्तरासिर्विंशद्भिरेको भगवान्यथाऽद्यः । स एव संवत्सरनामसंज्ञः स एव ग्रावागत आदिदेवः

Transliteration

sa eva mūrttaścaturuttarāsirviṃśadbhireko bhagavānyathā'dyaḥ | sa eva saṃvatsaranāmasaṃjñaḥ sa eva grāvāgata ādidevaḥ

Translation

ذلك الربّ الأزلي بعينه واحدٌ، غير أنّه يتجلّى في أربعٍ وعشرين صورةً متجسّدة؛ وهو أيضًا يُسمّى بأسماء السنوات الأربع والعشرين، وهو الإله الأوّل الذي جاء في هيئة الحجر المقدّس.

Word by Word

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• eva: indeed/alone
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• mūrttaḥ: embodied/manifest
• mūrttaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūrta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण

• caturuttarāsi-viṃśadbhiḥ: by/with (the count of) twenty plus four (i.e., 24)
• caturuttarāsi-viṃśadbhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturuttara (प्रातिपदिक) + āsi (प्रातिपदिक; ‘असि’/‘अशि’ इत्यादि पाठभेद-संभव) + viṃśati (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुवचन-तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental plural); संख्यापरिमाण-निर्देश (by/with twenty plus four = 24)

• ekaḥ: one
• ekaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण

• bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yathā: as
• yathā: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (as/just as)

• ādyaḥ: primeval/first
• ādyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय

• saṃvatsara-nāma-saṃjñaḥ: having the appellation ‘Saṃvatsara’
• saṃvatsara-nāma-saṃjñaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃvatsara (प्रातिपदिक) + nāman (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃjña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; ‘संवत्सर-नाम’ इति यस्य सः (having the designation ‘saṃvatsara-name’)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय

• grāvāgataḥ: come in the form of a stone / stone-arrived
• grāvāgataḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: grāva (प्रातिपदिक) + āgata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √gam गम्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past participle)

• ādidevaḥ: the primordial god
• ādidevaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (primeval + god)

Speaker

Gālava

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śāligrāma as Ādideva’s 24-fold manifestation

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic diagram-like scene: the single Viṣṇu principle radiates into twenty-four Śāligrāma forms arranged in a mandala, interwoven with a ring of year-names, suggesting time as a garland around the deity; the stone-forms glow subtly as living mūrtis.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu (implied as Bhagavān/Ādideva)
• Śāligrāma (stone form implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The One Supreme Lord compassionately becomes accessible through multiple sacred forms—especially as the worshipable stone manifestation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Śāligrāma tradition rooted in Gaṇḍakī is the implied tīrtha-context for the stone-manifestation teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit instruction: worship the manifested forms (especially the stone form) recognizing the One Lord behind the many.