Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

नवकं दशकं चैव तथैकादशकं त्वथ । द्वादशकं चाष्टादशकमेकोनविंशकं तथा

Transliteration

navakaṃ daśakaṃ caiva tathaikādaśakaṃ tvatha | dvādaśakaṃ cāṣṭādaśakamekonaviṃśakaṃ tathā

Translation

Certains portaient neuf coiffes, d’autres dix ; de même, quelques-uns en avaient onze ; puis il s’en trouvait à douze, à dix-huit, et même à dix-neuf coiffes.

Word by Word

• नवकम्: a set of nine
• नवकम्: Karma/Predicate-Nominative (object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नवक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• दशकम्: a set of ten
• दशकम्: Karma/Predicate-Nominative (object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्यय (particle; emphasis/limitation)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (adverb)

• एकादशकम्: a set of eleven
• एकादशकम्: Karma/Predicate-Nominative (object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एकादशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तु: but/and then
• तु: Sambandha (particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्यय (particle; contrast/emphasis)

• अथ: then/next
• अथ: Sambandha (sequencer/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, आरम्भ/अनन्तरार्थक (discourse particle)

• द्वादशकम्: a set of twelve
• द्वादशकम्: Karma/Predicate-Nominative (object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अष्टादशकम्: a set of eighteen
• अष्टादशकम्: Karma/Predicate-Nominative (object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टादशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• एकोनविंशकम्: a set of nineteen
• एकोनविंशकम्: Karma/Predicate-Nominative (object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + ऊन (प्रातिपदिक) + विंशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (विंशकात् एकेन ऊनम् = ‘one less than twenty’ = 19)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (adverb)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), by section-level deduction within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedārakṣetra (Kedāra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nāgas with nine, ten, eleven, twelve, eighteen, and nineteen hoods rise like living canopies; the hood-fans overlap, creating a layered mandala around the unseen Śiva-center.

Characters & Entities

• Nāga (serpents)
• Śiva (implied context of Śiva’s ornaments)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even awe-inspiring cosmic beings (nāgas) appear as part of Śiva’s divine adornment, underscoring His supremacy and auspiciousness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra/Kedārakṣetra (Kedārakhaṇḍa context), where Śiva’s majesty is praised as part of the place’s māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is primarily descriptive (stuti/varṇana) of divine attendants and ornaments.