Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

गाधिरुवाच । एकतः श्यामकर्णानामश्वानां वातरंहसाम् । शतानि सप्त विप्रेंद्र श्वेतानां चैव सर्वतः

Transliteration

gādhiruvāca | ekataḥ śyāmakarṇānāmaśvānāṃ vātaraṃhasām | śatāni sapta vipreṃdra śvetānāṃ caiva sarvataḥ

Translation

Gādhi sprach: „Zum einen siebenhundert windeschnelle Pferde mit dunklen Ohren; und, o Bester der Brahmanen, in allem Übrigen sollen sie ganz und gar weiß sein.“

Word by Word

• गाधिः: Gādhi
• गाधिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गाधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• एकतः: on one side / from one side
• एकतः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एकतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of side/direction)

• श्याम-कर्णानाम्: of black-eared
• श्याम-कर्णानाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्याम (प्रातिपदिक) + कर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural); कर्मधारयः (श्यामाः कर्णाः येषाम्)

• अश्वानाम्: of horses
• अश्वानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• वात-रंहसाम्: of wind-swift
• वात-रंहसाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वात (प्रातिपदिक) + रंहस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वातस्य रंहः इव)

• शतानि: hundreds
• शतानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nominative/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• सप्त: seven
• सप्त: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सप्त (संख्या/अव्ययवत्)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-अव्यय (numeral, indeclinable)

• विप्र-इन्द्र: O lord of brahmins
• विप्र-इन्द्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक) + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (विप्राणाम् इन्द्रः)

• श्वेतानाम्: of white (ones)
• श्वेतानाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्वेत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण

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

• एव: indeed / just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• सर्वतः: from all sides / altogether
• सर्वतः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: on all sides / entirely)

Speaker

Gādhi

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛcīka

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gādhi enumerates the bride-price: a vision-like tableau of seven hundred white horses, each with dark ears, depicted as wind-swift; the court imagines the herd as a near-miraculous demand.

Characters & Entities

• Gādhi
• Ṛcīka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly conditions can be stringent, yet the Purāṇic narrative uses them to reveal the power of mantra and tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This demand becomes the cause for the manifestation of Aśvatīrtha near the Gaṅgā by Kānyakubja.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is stated here; the verse specifies the exact requirement that drives the later japa and tīrtha-appearance.