Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 114

Devanagari script

षडशीतिमुखे पुण्ये छायायां कुंजरस्य वा । एष ते कथितः कल्पस्तिलधेनोर्मयानघ

Transliteration

ṣaḍaśītimukhe puṇye chāyāyāṃ kuṃjarasya vā | eṣa te kathitaḥ kalpastiladhenormayānagha

Translation

À la sainte ouverture de la Ṣaḍaśīti, ou même à l’ombre d’un éléphant, ô toi sans faute, je t’ai déclaré en entier le rite de Tiladhenu et son juste accomplissement.

Word by Word

• षडशीतिमुखे: in the eighty-sixth (section/heading)
• षडशीतिमुखे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षडशीतिमुख (प्रातिपदिक) = षडशीति + मुख
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः—षडशीतिः (86) इति संख्याविशेषः + मुख (मुखम्) → षडशीतिमुख (षडशीत्याः मुखम्/प्रमुखम्)

• पुण्ये: in the holy (context/place)
• पुण्ये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (षडशीतिमुखे इत्यस्य)

• छायायाम्: in the shade
• छायायाम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छाया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• कुंजरस्य: of an elephant
• कुंजरस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुंजर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक-निपात (particle of alternation ‘or’)

• एषः: this
• एषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Dative/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• कथितः: told/declared
• कथितः: Karma (Object/कर्म) (in passive sense; predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ् (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि/कर्मणि क्त-प्रत्यय); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘कथित’ = said/told

• कल्पः: procedure/rite
• कल्पः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• तिलधेनोः: of the sesame-cow (gift/rite)
• तिलधेनोः: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिलधेनु (प्रातिपदिक) = तिल + धेनु
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; समासः—तिल (sesame) + धेनु (cow) → तिलधेनु

• उर्मया: by (its) wave/undulation
• उर्मया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उर्मि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; साधन/हेतौ प्रयोगः (instrumental/means)

• अनघ: O sinless one
• अनघ: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; संबोधन-पदम्

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from immediate narrative context in Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cakratīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa/nṛpati; addressed as nṛpa, mahīpāla)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tīrtha-bank on the Narmadā at a seasonal junction; a donor completes tiladhenu-dāna under a broad shade—evoked as ‘elephant’s shade’—with priests, sesame offerings, and a symbolic cow-form gift.

Characters & Entities

• Ṣaḍaśīti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual acts gain clarity and power when performed according to an authorized kalpa (procedure) and auspicious times.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The surrounding discourse concerns Cakratīrtha in the Revā region; this verse concludes the tiladhenu procedure within that context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It concludes the tiladhenu-rite instructions and notes auspicious occasions such as Ṣaḍaśīti.