Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

एका गजमुखी तत्र तथान्या तुरगानना । सारमेय मुखाश्चान्याः पक्षिच्छागमुखाः पराः

Transliteration

ekā gajamukhī tatra tathānyā turagānanā | sārameya mukhāścānyāḥ pakṣicchāgamukhāḥ parāḥ

Translation

Là, l’une avait un visage d’éléphant ; une autre, un visage de cheval. D’autres avaient un visage de chien, et d’autres encore, un visage d’oiseau et de chèvre.

Word by Word

• ekā: one (female)
• ekā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक-विशेषणम्

• gaja-mukhī: elephant-faced
• gaja-mukhī: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gaja (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (‘elephant-faced’); विशेषणम् (ekā)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• tathā: likewise; similarly
• tathā: Adverbial (Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक/समुच्चयार्थक (in like manner/also)

• anyā: another (female)
• anyā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (elliptic ‘ekā’)

• turaga-ānanā: horse-faced
• turaga-ānanā: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: turaga (प्रातिपदिक) + ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (‘horse-faced’); विशेषणम् (anyā)

• sārameya-mukhāḥ: dog-faced
• sārameya-mukhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sārameya (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (‘dog-faced’); विशेषणम् (anyāḥ)

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (Samuccaya/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• anyāḥ: others (female)
• anyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (elliptic ‘mātaraḥ’)

• pakṣi-chāga-mukhāḥ: bird- and goat-faced
• pakṣi-chāga-mukhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pakṣin (प्रातिपदिक) + chāga (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-पूर्वपद (pakṣi+chāga) तत्पुरुषेण mukhāḥ सह (‘bird- and goat-faced’); विशेषणम् (parāḥ/anyāḥ)

• parāḥ: others; further ones
• parāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (‘others/further’)

Speaker

Unspecified (narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; likely Sūta narrating a tīrtha-context description)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kuṇḍa (name not specified in given verses)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: From the pond rise Mothers with distinct animal faces—elephant-faced, horse-faced, dog-faced, bird-faced, goat-faced—each adorned as a goddess, forming a protective ring around the kuṇḍa.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It portrays the awe-inspiring, otherworldly atmosphere that can surround sacred places, urging steadiness in dharma when confronted with fear or marvels.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya setting (chapter context); the precise tīrtha name is not stated in this single shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is descriptive rather than prescriptive.