Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

सुतनुरुवाच । अक्षरास्तु द्विपं चाशन्मातृकायाः प्रकीर्तिताः

Transliteration

sutanuruvāca | akṣarāstu dvipaṃ cāśanmātṛkāyāḥ prakīrtitāḥ

Translation

സുതനു പറഞ്ഞു—മാതൃകയുടെ അക്ഷരങ്ങൾ എണ്ണം പ്രകാരം അമ്പത്തിരണ്ട് (52) എന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധീകരിക്കപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• sutanuḥ: Sutanu
• sutanuḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sutanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Speech act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच्) (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• akṣarāḥ: letters, syllables
• akṣarāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akṣara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• tu: indeed, however
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle): तु (contrast/emphasis)

• dvipañcāśat: fifty-two
• dvipañcāśat: Karta (Numerical qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvi-pañcāśat (द्वि + पञ्चाशत्) (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (अत्र प्रथमा-बहुवचन 'akṣarāḥ' इत्यस्य संख्या-विशेषणरूपेण); द्विगु-समास

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction): च

• āsan: were
• āsan: Kriya (Copula/अस्ति-अर्थक क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्) (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• mātṛkāyāḥ: of the Mātr̥kā (alphabet set)
• mātṛkāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛkā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• prakīrtitāḥ: are declared/mentioned
• prakīrtitāḥ: Kriya (Predicate participle/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√kīrt (कीर्त्) (धातु) + kta
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा बहुवचन; 'having been proclaimed/mentioned'

Speaker

Sutanū

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The brāhmaṇa questioner

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sutanū, seated like a young ṛṣi, enumerates letters; in the air, stylized Sanskrit akṣaras appear as luminous glyphs forming a garland (mālā) around him.

Characters & Entities

• Sutanū
• Mātr̥kā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sound is systematized; the Mātr̥kā (letters) are treated as a divine framework for mantra and meaning.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is mentioned; the focus is on śabda (sacred sound) and enumeration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; it provides doctrinal groundwork for mantra-based practice.