Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

वदनैकमहाद्वारे षड्गवाक्षवितभूषिते । ओष्ठद्वयकाटे च तथा दंतार्गलान्विते

Transliteration

vadanaikamahādvāre ṣaḍgavākṣavitabhūṣite | oṣṭhadvayakāṭe ca tathā daṃtārgalānvite

Translation

With the mouth as its single great doorway, adorned with six ‘windows’; with the two lips as its door-leaves, and furnished with teeth as its bolts.

Word by Word

• vadana-eka-mahā-dvāre: in the single great door (the mouth)
• vadana-eka-mahā-dvāre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vadana (प्रातिपदिक) + eka (प्रातिपदिक) + mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + dvāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-प्राय समास (determinative: “one great door of the mouth”); नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), सप्तमी (Loc.), एकवचन

• ṣaṭ-gavākṣa-vita-bhūṣite: adorned with six windows/vents
• ṣaṭ-gavākṣa-vita-bhūṣite: Adhikarana (Location-qualifier/अधिकरणविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṭ (संख्या) + gavākṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + vita (प्रातिपदिक) + √bhūṣ (धातु) → bhūṣita (कृदन्त)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास; क्त-कृदन्त (bhūṣita = “adorned”); नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), सप्तमी (Loc.), एकवचन; विशेषण (dvāre/gṛhe implied)

• oṣṭha-dvaya-kāṭe: in the bolt/bar of the pair of lips
• oṣṭha-dvaya-kāṭe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: oṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक) + kāṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग (m.), सप्तमी (Loc.), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: “thus/likewise”)

• danta-argala-anvite: provided with tooth-bolts (teeth as bars)
• danta-argala-anvite: Adhikarana (Location-qualifier/अधिकरणविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: danta (प्रातिपदिक) + argalā (प्रातिपदिक) + √i (धातु) → anvita (कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; क्त-कृदन्त (anvita = “endowed with”); नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), सप्तमी (Loc.), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A human figure stylized as a small house-fort: mouth as arched doorway, six windows glowing, lips as doors, teeth as a visible bolt; a yogin stands guard at the gate with japa-mālā.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames the body as a constructed ‘house’ with openings, reducing identification with it and encouraging detachment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned; it is part of a philosophical depiction of the body.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse supports contemplative insight rather than external ritual.