Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

अथाऽसौ महिषो जातः कृष्णगात्रधरो महान् । अतिदीर्घविषाणश्च अंजनाद्रिरिवापरः

Transliteration

athā'sau mahiṣo jātaḥ kṛṣṇagātradharo mahān | atidīrghaviṣāṇaśca aṃjanādririvāparaḥ

Translation

Daraufhin wurde er zu einem mächtigen Büffel, schwarz am ganzen Körper, mit überaus langen Hörnern – wie ein weiterer Anjanadri-Berg.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक अव्यय (then/now)

• असौ: that one (he)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग

• महिषः: a buffalo
• महिषः: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महिष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• जातः: was born/became
• जातः: Kriya (State/क्रिया-भाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle) ‘born/become’, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कृष्णगात्रधरः: bearing a black body
• कृष्णगात्रधरः: Karta (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + गात्र (प्रातिपदिक) + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कृष्णं गात्रं यस्य/कृष्णगात्रः; ततः ‘कृष्णगात्रं धरति’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• महान्: great, huge
• महान्: Karta (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• अतिदीर्घविषाणः: having very long horns
• अतिदीर्घविषाणः: Karta (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (अव्यय) + दीर्घ (प्रातिपदिक) + विषाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उपपद-तत्पुरुष/अव्ययीभाव-पूर्वपद (अति+दीर्घ = अतिदीर्घ) ततः कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष ‘अतिदीर्घे विषाणे यस्य’, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अञ्जनाद्रिः: the Anjana mountain
• अञ्जनाद्रिः: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अञ्जन (प्रातिपदिक) + अद्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अञ्जनस्य अद्रिः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• इव: like
• इव: Upama (Comparison marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-वाचक अव्यय (comparative particle)

• अपरः: another (one)
• अपरः: Karta (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (असौ महिषः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Nāgara Khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A newly transformed colossal buffalo stands on the riverbank, black as raincloud, horns stretching like a mountain ridge; the landscape echoes the Anjanādri comparison.

Characters & Entities

• Mahiṣa (buffalo)
• Anjanādri

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma ripens into embodied consequence; the Purāṇa dramatizes karma through visible transformation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode belongs to the Gaṅgā-bank tīrtha setting within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.