Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

उर्वश्याद्याश्चाप्सरसश्चंडिकाद्याश्च मातरः । आदित्या वसवो दस्रौ विश्वेदेवा महौजसः

Transliteration

urvaśyādyāścāpsarasaścaṃḍikādyāśca mātaraḥ | ādityā vasavo dasrau viśvedevā mahaujasaḥ

Translation

അവിടെ ഉർവശീ മുതലായ അപ്സരസ്സുകൾ, ചണ്ഡികാ മുതലായ ദിവ്യ മാതാക്കൾ, ആദിത്യന്മാർ, വസുക്കൾ, യുഗള അശ്വിനികൾ (ദസ്രൗ) കൂടാതെ മഹൗജസ്സുള്ള വിശ്വേദേവന്മാർ—മഹാതേജസ്സാൽ ദീപ്തരായി—ഉപസ്ഥിതരായിരുന്നു।

Word by Word

• urvaśyādyāḥ: Urvaśī and others
• urvaśyādyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: urvaśī (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (ādi-śabdaḥ ‘आदि’ = ‘and others’)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction/समुच्चय)

• apsarasaḥ: Apsarases (celestial nymphs)
• apsarasaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apsaras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction/समुच्चय)

• caṇḍikādyāḥ: Caṇḍikā and others
• caṇḍikādyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṇḍikā (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (ādi-śabdaḥ ‘आदि’ = ‘and others’)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction/समुच्चय)

• mātaraḥ: the Mothers (Mātṛs)
• mātaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• ādityāḥ: the Ādityas
• ādityāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āditya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• vasavaḥ: the Vasus
• vasavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• dasrau: the two Dasras (Aśvins)
• dasrau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Dvivacana (Dual)

• viśvedevāḥ: the Viśvedevas (all-gods)
• viśvedevāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural); समासः—कर्मधारयः (‘all’ + ‘gods’)

• mahaujasaḥ: of great power
• mahaujasaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ojas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural); विशेषणम्; समासः—कर्मधारयः (‘great’ + ‘vigor/power’)

Speaker

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

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous celestial court: Urvaśī and apsarases in graceful poses; Caṇḍikā with attendant Mothers; rows of Ādityas, Vasus, Aśvins, and Viśvedevas emitting halos, arranged like a mandala around an unseen central divinity.

Characters & Entities

• Urvaśī
• Apsarases
• Caṇḍikā
• Mātṛs (Divine Mothers)
• Ādityas
• Vasus
• Aśvins (Dasrau)
• Viśvedevas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is upheld by a vast sacred order—devas, mothers, and celestial beings—showing the cosmos as a coordinated divine assembly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a cosmological roll-call within the chapter’s narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

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