Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

मर्दयंत्यास्तव तदा संजातं च महन्मलम् । तत्र जज्ञे गजेंद्रास्यश्चतुर्बाहुर्मनोहरः

Transliteration

mardayaṃtyāstava tadā saṃjātaṃ ca mahanmalam | tatra jajñe gajeṃdrāsyaścaturbāhurmanoharaḥ

Translation

Comme Tu frottais alors, une grande masse d’impureté se forma ; de là naquit un être charmant, à quatre bras, au visage du Seigneur des éléphants.

Word by Word

• मर्दयन्त्याः: of (you) while crushing/massaging
• मर्दयन्त्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मृद्/मर्द् (धातु) → मर्दयन्ती (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/Present active participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; ‘तव’ इत्यनेन सह—‘of you while crushing/massaging’

• तव: of you/your
• तव: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-viseshana (Temporal/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (then)

• संजातम्: arisen/produced
• संजातम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + जन् (धातु) → संजात (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘मलम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (and)

• महत्: great
• महत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘मलम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• मलम्: impurity/dirt
• मलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरणार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (there)

• जज्ञे: was born/arose
• जज्ञे: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• गजेन्द्रास्यः: elephant-faced (having the face of an elephant-lord)
• गजेन्द्रास्यः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गज (प्रातिपदिक) + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आस्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (गजेन्द्रस्य इव आस्यं यस्य सः)

• चतुर्बाहुः: four-armed
• चतुर्बाहुः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक) + बाहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु/बहुव्रीहि-प्राय (चत्वारः बाहवो यस्य सः)

• मनोहरः: charming
• मनोहरः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मनोहर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrative voice (Purāṇic narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya; speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Somanātha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied audience within Prabhāsa-māhātmya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: As the Goddess rubs/presses her form, a great dark mass of impurity gathers; from it emerges a beautiful four-armed, elephant-faced being—newborn yet majestic.

Characters & Entities

• Gajendra-āsya (elephant-faced deity, i.e., Gaṇeśa-like figure)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even what appears impure can be transformed by divine agency into a purposeful force within sacred history.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, the sacred region of Somanātha (Śiva) in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it introduces a mythic origin within the site’s māhātmya.