Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

षट्त्रिंशत्परिमाणेन ततस्तास्त्वं निशामय । गौरी कोलाहली धीरा द्राविडी माल कौशिकी

Transliteration

ṣaṭtriṃśatparimāṇena tatastāstvaṃ niśāmaya | gaurī kolāhalī dhīrā drāviḍī māla kauśikī

Translation

षट्त्रिंशत्परिमाणेन ततस्तास्त्वं निशामय। गौरी कोलाहली धीरा द्राविडी माल कौशिकी॥

Word by Word

• षट्त्रिंशत्परिमाणेन: by the measure of thirty-six
• षट्त्रिंशत्परिमाणेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षट्त्रिंशत् (प्रातिपदिक) + परिमाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; षट्त्रिंशत्-परिमाण इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; करण/हेतु-अर्थे (instrumental: 'by/with the measure of thirty-six')

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः: अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: 'then/from there')

• ताः: those (feminine, plural)
• ताः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; एकवचन, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा)

• निशामय: listen/observe
• निशामय: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-√शम् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; अर्थः: 'hear/observe'

• गौरी: Gaurī
• गौरी: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गौरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; नाम (proper name)

• कोलाहली: Kolāhalī
• कोलाहली: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोलाहली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम

• धीरा: Dhīrā
• धीरा: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम/विशेषण-रूपेण नाम

• द्राविडी: Drāviḍī
• द्राविडी: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्राविडी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम

• माल: Māla
• माल: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम (पाठभेदे 'माला' इति)

• कौशिकी: Kauśikī
• कौशिकी: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौशिकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: a sage/narrator gestures as if teaching; before him appear six named rāginīs as distinct feminine figures, each with a characteristic instrument/pose, hinting at a larger set of thirty-six.

Characters & Entities

• Gaurī
• Kolāhalī
• Dhīrā
• Drāviḍī
• Māla
• Kauśikī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sacred tradition is preserved through precise naming and enumeration, presenting divine-associated forms as part of an ordered cosmic revelation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is explicitly identified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated.