Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

सिंहवक्त्रो वृषहनुः प्रचण्डस्तुंडिरेव च । एते चान्ये च बहवस्तदा भवसमीपगाः

Transliteration

siṃhavaktro vṛṣahanuḥ pracaṇḍastuṃḍireva ca | ete cānye ca bahavastadā bhavasamīpagāḥ

Translation

ಸಿಂಹವಕ್ತ್ರ, ವೃಷಹನು, ಪ್ರಚಂಡ ಮತ್ತು ತುಂಡಿ ಸಹ—ಇವರು ಹಾಗೂ ಇನ್ನೂ ಅನೇಕರು ಆ ವೇಳೆ ಭವ (ಶಿವ)ನ ಸಮೀಪದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರು.

Word by Word

• सिंहवक्त्रः: lion-faced
• सिंहवक्त्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिंह (प्रातिपदिक) + वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सिंहस्य वक्त्रम् यस्य)

• वृषहनुः: bull-jawed
• वृषहनुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृष (प्रातिपदिक) + हनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वृषस्य हनुः यस्य)

• प्रचण्डः: Pracaṇḍa / the fierce one
• प्रचण्डः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रचण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तुंडिरः: Tuṇḍira (name)
• तुंडिरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुंडिर (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नामपद

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

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

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

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

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

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

• बहवः: many
• बहवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• भवसमीपगाः: those who had gone near Bhava (Śiva)
• भवसमीपगाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भव (प्रातिपदिक) + समीप (प्रातिपदिक) + ग (कृदन्त; √गम् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः (भवस्य समीपे गाः = समीपगाः)

Speaker

Narrator (likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa; not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Named gaṇas with signature animal-faced traits—lion-faced (Siṃhavaktra), bull-jawed (Vṛṣahanu), fierce Pracaṇḍa, and Tuṃḍi—stand in attentive formation near Śiva’s sphere, suggesting guardians at the threshold of a sacred grove or shrine.

Characters & Entities

• Bhava (Śiva)
• Siṃhavaktra
• Vṛṣahanu
• Pracaṇḍa
• Tuṃḍi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Near Śiva, countless devoted beings gather—suggesting that approaching a tīrtha is symbolically approaching the Lord with his divine entourage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not explicitly mentioned in this verse; it remains within the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual instruction is present here.