Shloka 12

द्वैतवन-सरः प्रवेशविघ्नः

Dvaītavana Lake: Obstructed Entry

Devanagari script

एष वीराष्टक: प्रोक्त: स्कन्दमातृगणोद्धव: । छागवकक्‍्त्रेण सहितो नवक: परिकीर्त्यते,शिशु और मातृगणोंको लेकर जो आठ व्यक्ति होते हैं, उन्हें “वीराष्टक” कहा गया है। बकरेके-से मुखसे युक्त स्कन्दको सम्मिलित करनेसे यह समुदाय वीर-नवक कहा जाता है

Transliteration

eṣa vīrāṣṭakaḥ proktaḥ skandamātṛgaṇoddhavaḥ | chāgavakaktrena sahito navakaḥ parikīrtyate ||

Translation

ഇത് ‘വീരാഷ്ടകം’ എന്നു പ്രസ്താവിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു—സ്കന്ദനും മാതൃഗണവും സംബന്ധിച്ച് ഉദ്ഭവിച്ച എട്ട് വീരന്മാർ. മേഷമുഖവിശിഷ്ടനായ സ്കന്ദനെയും അവരോടൊപ്പം ചേർത്താൽ, ആ കൂട്ടം ‘വീര-നവകം’ എന്നു കീര്ത്തിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു.

Word by Word

एषःthis

वीराष्टकःthe group of eight heroes/persons (the 'Vīrāṣṭaka')

प्रोक्तःis said/declared

स्कन्दमातृगणोद्भवःarisen from the group of Skanda's Mothers (Mātṛgaṇas)

छागवक्त्रेणwith a goat-face / by (having) a goat-like face

सहितःaccompanied/including

नवकःa group of nine (the 'Navaka')

परिकीर्त्यतेis proclaimed/called

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

Skanda (Kārttikeya)

Mātṛgaṇa (Mātṛkās)

Vīrāṣṭaka

Vīra-navaka

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse classifies protective divine forces into a structured set: eight ‘vīras’ associated with Skanda and the Mother-goddesses are called the Vīrāṣṭaka; adding Skanda (noted here by a distinctive goat-faced form) makes the set nine, the Vīra-navaka. The emphasis is on naming and recognizing sacred groupings used in mythic-ritual contexts.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya is explaining a traditional enumeration: a group of eight beings connected with Skanda and the Mātṛkās is identified and given a formal name, and then the count is expanded to nine by explicitly including Skanda, yielding a second formal designation.