Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नंतरे तस्मात्कुण्डाच्छतसहस्रशः । निष्क्रांताः संख्यया हीना मातरो नैकरूपिकाः

Transliteration

etasminnaṃtare tasmātkuṇḍācchatasahasraśaḥ | niṣkrāṃtāḥ saṃkhyayā hīnā mātaro naikarūpikāḥ

Translation

Unterdessen traten aus jenem Kuṇḍa die göttlichen Mütter (Mātr̥kās) zu Hunderttausenden hervor—unzählbar—von mannigfaltiger Gestalt.

Word by Word

• etasmin: in this
• etasmin: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-शब्दः; विशेषणरूपेण

• antare: in the interval/meanwhile
• antare: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• tasmāt: from that
• tasmāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-शब्दः

• kuṇḍāt: from the pond
• kuṇḍāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन

• śata-sahasraśaḥ: by hundreds of thousands; in hundreds of thousands
• śata-sahasraśaḥ: Adverbial (Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śata (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + śas (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; संख्यावाचक-द्विगु-समासः; ‘-śaḥ/शः’ इति वितरणार्थक-अव्ययप्रत्ययः (distributive)

• niṣkrāntāḥ: came out/emerged
• niṣkrāntāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: niṣ-√kram (क्रम् धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (भूतकृत्/क्त-प्रत्ययान्त); ‘निष्क्रान्त’ (past active participle sense); स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन (agreeing with mātaraḥ)

• saṃkhyayā: by number; in count
• saṃkhyayā: Instrumental/Means (Karaṇa/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• hīnāḥ: deficient; fewer
• hīnāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (agreeing with mātaraḥ)

• mātaraḥ: mothers
• mātaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• naika-rūpikāḥ: of many forms; not of one form
• naika-rūpikāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: na (नञ्) + eka (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुषः (‘not one-formed’); विशेषणम् (mātaraḥ)

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kuṇḍa (name not specified in given verses)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred pond (kuṇḍa) suddenly shimmering; from its waters rise innumerable Matr̥kās in waves, each distinct in form, filling the horizon like a living mandala of Śakti.

Characters & Entities

• Kuṇḍa
• Mātaraḥ (Mātṛkās/Mothers)
• Devī-Śakti (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śakti is limitless and manifold—divine motherhood manifests in countless forms to uphold and defend sacred order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The kuṇḍa is exalted as a powerful Śākta center capable of producing innumerable protective manifestations.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the verse describes the miraculous outcome and the potency of the tīrtha and worship.