Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

अनेकाकारविन्यासादन्येषां च ध्वजा भवन् । शतेन शीघ्रवेगानां व्याघ्राणां हेममालिनाम्

Transliteration

anekākāravinyāsādanyeṣāṃ ca dhvajā bhavan | śatena śīghravegānāṃ vyāghrāṇāṃ hemamālinām

Translation

Par l’agencement de formes multiples, les étendards des autres surgirent eux aussi—comme entraînés en avant par cent tigres au pas rapide, parés de guirlandes d’or.

Word by Word

• aneka-ākāra-vinyāsāt: from the arrangement of many forms
• aneka-ākāra-vinyāsāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source/हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aneka (प्रातिपदिक) + ākāra (प्रातिपदिक) + vinyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (बहूनाम् आकाराणाम् विन्यासः)

• anyeṣām: of others
• anyeṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (सामान्य), षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• dhvajāḥ: banners
• dhvajāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhvaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• bhavan: were/became
• bhavan: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू सत्तायाम्)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; पाठानुसारं 'bhavan' = 'abhavan' (अग्रहण-लोपः/सन्धि-लेखन)

• śatena: with a hundred
• śatena: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• śīghra-vega-ānām: of swift-speeded
• śīghra-vega-ānām: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śīghra (प्रातिपदिक) + vega (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (शीघ्रः वेगः येषाम्)

• vyāghrāṇām: of tigers
• vyāghrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāghra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• hema-mālinām: garlanded with gold
• hema-mālinām: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hema (प्रातिपदिक) + mālin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (हेमस्य माला येषाम्)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sweeping panorama: countless banners with varied emblems; in the foreground a chariot or standard-platform drawn by a hundred lightning-fast tigers, each wearing a golden garland, their stripes and gold flashing as they surge forward.

Characters & Entities

• Dhvaja (banners)
• Vyāghra (tigers)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Multiplicity of forms and outward grandeur can be marshalled for unrighteous aims; dharma is judged by intent and alignment with cosmic order, not spectacle.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.