Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

गोवक्त्रेण प्रवेश्याथ गुह्यमार्गेण तत्क्षणात् । आकर्षिता महाभागे समानीताथ तत्क्षणात्

Transliteration

govaktreṇa praveśyātha guhyamārgeṇa tatkṣaṇāt | ākarṣitā mahābhāge samānītātha tatkṣaṇāt

Translation

O Hochbegnadete! Sogleich trat sie durch das Maul der Kuh auf geheimem Pfad ein; dann wurde sie herausgezogen und unverzüglich (zum Ritus) herbeigebracht.

Word by Word

• गोवक्त्रेण: through the cow’s mouth
• गोवक्त्रेण: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक) + वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गोः वक्त्रम्)

• प्रवेश्य: having made (her) enter
• प्रवेश्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-विश् (धातु)
• Form: णिच्-प्रत्ययान्त क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (causative gerund) ‘प्रवेश्य’ = ‘having caused to enter/after inserting’

• अथ: then
• अथ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Discourse particle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle); ‘then/now’

• गुह्यमार्गेण: by the secret path
• गुह्यमार्गेण: Karaṇa (Instrument/Path/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुह्य (प्रातिपदिक) + मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (गुह्यः मार्गः)

• तत्क्षणात्: immediately
• तत्क्षणात्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययार्थे पञ्चमी-एकवचन-रूपम्; ‘immediately’

• आकर्षिता: was drawn/pulled
• आकर्षिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-कृष् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘was pulled/drawn’

• महाभागे: O greatly fortunate one
• महाभागे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाभाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (महान् भागः यस्याः सा)

• समानीता: was brought
• समानीता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-नी (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘was brought’

• अथ: then
• अथ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Discourse particle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle); ‘then’

• तत्क्षणात्: at that very moment
• तत्क्षणात्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययार्थे पञ्चमी-एकवचन-रूपम्; ‘at that very moment’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: cave

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: mahābhāga (addressed interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A miraculous transit: the maiden enters through a cow’s mouth into a secret corridor and is drawn forth instantly to the ritual arena; onlookers are astonished.

Characters & Entities

• Gauḥ (cow, symbolic)
• Unnamed maiden (later identified with Gāyatrī in the passage)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In sacred history, hidden means may serve higher dharma when the preservation of yajña and cosmic order is at stake.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse functions as mythic support within a Tīrtha-māhātmya; the site is implied by the chapter’s broader setting, not explicitly named in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse narrates extraordinary conveyance to complete a yajña-related necessity.