Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

षट्पंचाशत्सहस्राणि तथान्यानि नवैव तु । ता वहंति रसं देहे जलं नद्यो यथा भुवि

Transliteration

ṣaṭpaṃcāśatsahasrāṇi tathānyāni navaiva tu | tā vahaṃti rasaṃ dehe jalaṃ nadyo yathā bhuvi

Translation

Il y en a cinquante-six mille (canaux), et encore neuf de plus. Ils portent dans le corps le rasa, l’essence vitale, comme les rivières sur la terre portent l’eau.

Word by Word

• ṣaṭ: six
• ṣaṭ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṭ (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; समासाङ्ग ('six')

• paṃcāśat: fifty
• paṃcāśat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paṃcāśat (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; समासाङ्ग ('fifty')

• sahasrāṇi: fifty-six thousand
• sahasrāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Plural); द्विगु-समास (ṣaṭ-paṃcāśat-sahasra = 56,000)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: 'likewise')

• anyāni: other
• anyāni: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Plural)

• nava: nine
• nava: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nava (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचन-विशेषण (Numeral used adjectivally)

• eva: indeed; just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (particle of emphasis)

• tu: but; and
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अन्वयार्थक-निपात (adversative/continuative particle)

• tāḥ: they (those)
• tāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (Pronoun; Feminine, Nominative, Plural)

• vahanti: carry; convey
• vahanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vah (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन (Present Indicative, 3rd person, Plural)

• rasam: fluid; essence (nutritive juice)
• rasam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Singular)

• dehe: in the body
• dehe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Masculine, Locative, Singular)

• jalam: water
• jalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• nadyaḥ: rivers
• nadyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Plural)

• yathā: as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparison/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (comparative: 'as')

• bhuvi: on the earth
• bhuvi: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Feminine, Locative, Singular)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāḍī-nadī-sāmya (inner river-tīrtha)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Disciple/interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A human figure shown as a landscape: countless inner rivers (nāḍīs) branching and converging, carrying luminous rasa like water; outside, earthly rivers mirror the same pattern.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames the body as a sacred, ordered system where life is sustained by regulated inner flows—supporting disciplines of purity, restraint, and yogic awareness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is a doctrinal description of the body used within the Purāṇic teaching context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse is descriptive rather than prescribing vrata, dāna, snāna, or japa.