Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

नानायुधोद्यतकरा नानावाहनभूषणाः । केचिद्व्याघ्रमुखाः केचित्सूकरास्या मृगा ननाः

Transliteration

nānāyudhodyatakarā nānāvāhanabhūṣaṇāḥ | kecidvyāghramukhāḥ kecitsūkarāsyā mṛgā nanāḥ

Translation

അവർ നാനാവിധ ആയുധങ്ങൾ ഉയർത്തിയ കൈകളോടെ, നാനാവാഹനങ്ങളും ആഭരണങ്ങളും ധരിച്ചു അലങ്കൃതരായിരുന്നു. ചിലർ വ്യാഘ്രമുഖർ, ചിലർ സൂകരാസ്യർ; മറ്റുള്ളവർ നാനാമൃഗരൂപധാരികൾ ആയിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• nānā-āyudha-udyata-karāḥ: with hands raised holding various weapons
• nānā-āyudha-udyata-karāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā (अव्यय) + āyudha (प्रातिपदिक) + udyata (कृदन्त, √yam/यम्? here udyata 'raised' from √yam with ud-) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (hands raised with various weapons)

• nānā-vāhana-bhūṣaṇāḥ: adorned with various mounts/vehicles
• nānā-vāhana-bhūṣaṇāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā (अव्यय) + vāhana (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (adorned with various vehicles/ mounts)

• kecit: some (of them)
• kecit: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अनिर्दिष्ट-समूहवाचक (some)

• vyāghra-mukhāḥ: tiger-faced
• vyāghra-mukhāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyāghra (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (having tiger-faces)

• kecit: some (others)
• kecit: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• sūkara-āsyāḥ: boar-faced
• sūkara-āsyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sūkara (प्रातिपदिक) + āsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (having boar-snout/face)

• mṛgāḥ: beasts/animals
• mṛgāḥ: Karta (Subject/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• nanāḥ: various
• nanāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; (पाठभेद/रूप: nanāḥ = nānāḥ)

Speaker

Narrator (context not specified in snippet; likely a purāṇic narrator within Brahmottarakhaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A martial tableau: beings with raised arms brandishing assorted weapons, mounted on varied vāhanas, glittering with strange ornaments; among them tiger-faced and boar-faced figures stand out, alongside other beast-formed warriors.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine guardianship is portrayed as multifaceted and formidable, protecting cosmic order through countless forms and powers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is praised in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.