Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

केचित्कृशा ह्रस्वदीर्घाः केचित्स्थूलमहोदराः । व्याघ्रेभमेषाजमुखा नानाप्राणिमहामुखाः

Transliteration

kecitkṛśā hrasvadīrghāḥ kecitsthūlamahodarāḥ | vyāghrebhameṣājamukhā nānāprāṇimahāmukhāḥ

Translation

Les uns étaient maigres, les autres petits ou grands ; d’autres encore étaient massifs, au ventre énorme. Certains avaient un visage de tigre, d’éléphant, de bélier ou de chèvre — êtres aux grandes faces, de maintes espèces.

Word by Word

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim + cit (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• kṛśāḥ: thin
• kṛśāḥ: Karta (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्

• hrasva-dīrghāḥ: short and tall
• hrasva-dīrghāḥ: Karta (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hrasva (प्रातिपदिक) + dīrgha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; द्वन्द्वः (short and tall/long)

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim + cit (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्

• sthūla-mahā-udarāḥ: fat, big-bellied
• sthūla-mahā-udarāḥ: Karta (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthūla (प्रातिपदिक) + mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + udara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; कर्मधारयः (sthūlaś ca mahā ca udaraḥ)

• vyāghra-ibha-meṣa-aja-mukhāḥ: having faces like tiger/elephant/ram/goat
• vyāghra-ibha-meṣa-aja-mukhāḥ: Karta (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyāghra (प्रातिपदिक) + ibha (प्रातिपदिक) + meṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + aja (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; बहुव्रीहिः (vyāghrasya ibhasya meṣasya ajasya iva mukhāni yeṣām)

• nānā-prāṇi-mahā-mukhāḥ: having great faces of various creatures
• nānā-prāṇi-mahā-mukhāḥ: Karta (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + prāṇin (प्रातिपदिक) + mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; बहुव्रीहिः (nānāvidha-prāṇi-sadṛśa-mahāmukhāni yeṣām)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A clustered assembly of gaṇas: some emaciated, some stout-bellied; heights vary; faces resemble tiger, elephant, ram, goat—an overwhelming panorama of many species fused into sacred attendants.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva’s gaṇas (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s divine entourage transcends ordinary forms, suggesting that the sacred includes the fierce, the strange, and the many-shaped.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is named; the focus is on gaṇa-varṇana (description of Śiva’s attendants).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.