Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

चत्वारिंशत्फणाः केऽपि पंचाशत्कं च षष्टिकम् । सप्ततिश्चाप्यशीतिश्च नवतिश्च तथैव च

Transliteration

catvāriṃśatphaṇāḥ ke'pi paṃcāśatkaṃ ca ṣaṣṭikam | saptatiścāpyaśītiśca navatiśca tathaiva ca

Translation

Les uns avaient quarante capuchons; d’autres cinquante et soixante; certains soixante-dix, d’autres quatre-vingts, et d’autres encore quatre-vingt-dix.

Word by Word

• चत्वारिंशत्फणाः: (those) with forty hoods
• चत्वारिंशत्फणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चत्वारिंशत् (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक) + फणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (चत्वारिंशत् फणाः = ‘having forty hoods’)

• के: some
• के: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (indef./interrog.)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्यय (particle; ‘also/even’)

• पञ्चाशत्कम्: a set of fifty
• पञ्चाशत्कम्: Karma/Predicate-Nominative (object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चाशत् (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक) + क (प्रत्ययान्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (group of fifty)

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

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

• सप्ततिः: seventy
• सप्ततिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्तति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्यय (particle)

• अशीतिः: eighty
• अशीतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशीति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• नवतिः: ninety
• नवतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नवति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

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

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

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

Speaker

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

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedārakṣetra (Kedāra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Colossal Nāgas with forty to ninety hoods rise like living fortifications; their hood-fans form a vast canopy, each hood tipped with a jewel, creating a starfield of protective eyes around Kedāra’s sacred center.

Characters & Entities

• Nāga (serpents)
• Śiva (implied by context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The immeasurable variety and grandeur of beings surrounding Śiva reflects the boundless nature of divinity and auspicious power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra (Kedārakṣetra), within the Kedārakhaṇḍa’s sacred-geography praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse serves as devotional description supporting the māhātmya tone.