Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

नमो मोदकभक्षाय नमो दन्तैकधारिणे

Transliteration

namo modakabhakṣāya namo dantaikadhāriṇe

Translation

Hommage à Celui qui mange les modakas; hommage à Celui qui porte une seule défense.

Word by Word

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Kriya (Salutation formula/क्रिया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नमस्कारार्थक

• मोदकभक्षाय: to the eater of modakas
• मोदकभक्षाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोदक-भक्ष (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative), एकवचन; समासः उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (मोदकान् भक्षयति इति)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Kriya (Salutation formula/क्रिया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नमस्कारार्थक

• दन्तैकधारिणे: to the one who bears a single tusk
• दन्तैकधारिणे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दन्त-एक-धारिन् (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (एकं दन्तं धारयति इति)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual purāṇic instruction within Nāgarakhaṇḍa; exact speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gaṇeśa holding or being offered a bowl of modakas; his single tusk clearly shown; devotees presenting sweets on a leaf-plate.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṇeśa
• Ekadanta
• Modaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion becomes intimate through specific divine names and symbols—Gaṇeśa is remembered by his marks (Ekadanta) and beloved offering (modaka).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to a tīrtha-māhātmya framework, but this particular verse is a Gaṇeśa salutation without a named location.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Praise/namaskāra to Gaṇeśa by invoking epithets connected with offerings and iconography.