Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

इमाञ्छ्लोकान्गायमानः प्रश्ररूपाञ्छृणुष्व तान् । मातृकां को विजानाति कतिधा कीदृशाक्षराम्

Transliteration

imāñchlokāngāyamānaḥ praśrarūpāñchṛṇuṣva tān | mātṛkāṃ ko vijānāti katidhā kīdṛśākṣarām

Translation

ପ୍ରଶ୍ନରୂପେ ମୁଁ ଯେ ଶ୍ଳୋକଗୁଡ଼ିକ ଗାଉଛି, ସେଗୁଡ଼ିକୁ ଶୁଣ। ମାତୃକା (ବର୍ଣ୍ଣମାଳା)କୁ ସତ୍ୟରେ କିଏ ଜାଣେ—ସେ କେତେଟି ଏବଂ କିପରି ପ୍ରକାରର ଅକ୍ଷରମୟ?

Word by Word

• imān: these
• imān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम, विशेषणम् ‘ślokān’ (Masculine, Accusative, Plural)

• ślokān: verses
• ślokān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śloka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), बहुवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Plural)

• gāyamānaḥ: singing/reciting
• gāyamānaḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gai (धातु) → gāyamāna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शानच्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि (Present participle: singing, Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• praśna-rūpān: in the form of questions
• praśna-rūpān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: praśna + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (प्रश्नस्य रूपम्) विशेषणम् ‘ślokān’ (Masculine, Accusative, Plural)

• śṛṇuṣva: listen
• śṛṇuṣva: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद (Imperative, 2nd person singular, Ātmanepada)

• tān: to them/those (verses)
• tān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Plural)

• mātṛkām: the alphabet/letter-matrix (mātṛkā)
• mātṛkām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛkā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन (Feminine, Accusative, Singular)

• kaḥ: who
• kaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम (Interrogative pronoun, Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• vijānāti: knows
• vijānāti: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi+jñā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (Present Indicative, 3rd person singular)

• katidhā: how many ways
• katidhā: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katidhā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: in how many ways/how manyfold)

• kīdṛśa-akṣarām: of what kind of letters
• kīdṛśa-akṣarām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kīdṛśa + akṣarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (कीदृशी सा अक्षरा) विशेषणम् ‘mātṛkām’ (Feminine, Accusative, Singular)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced); posing test-questions to identify the learned

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ‘śṛṇuṣva’ indicates an addressed listener within the narrative (unspecified in the excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A questioner sings interrogative ślokas; sages listen. Behind them, a subtle mystical diagram of letters (varṇacakra) appears, suggesting Mātṛkā as a sacred matrix of sound.

Characters & Entities

• Mātṛkā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True learning is verifiable; knowledge is tested through precise understanding, not mere reputation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No; this is a pedagogical passage about vidyā and examination.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it introduces a method of parīkṣā (testing) through doctrinal/linguistic questions.