Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

षण्मुखात्षण्मुखो नाम कार्त्तिकेयस्तु कृत्तिकात् । कुमारश्च कुमारत्वाद्गङ्गागर्भोऽग्निजोऽपरः

Transliteration

ṣaṇmukhātṣaṇmukho nāma kārttikeyastu kṛttikāt | kumāraśca kumāratvādgaṅgāgarbho'gnijo'paraḥ

Translation

ఆరు ముఖాలున్నందున ఆయన ‘షణ్ముఖ’ అని పిలువబడెను; కృత్తికల కారణంగా ‘కార్త్తికేయ’గా ప్రసిద్ధి పొందెను. నిత్య యౌవనమున ‘కుమార’ అని, అలాగే ‘గంగాగర్భ’ మరియు ‘అగ్నిజ’—అగ్నిజన్యుడు—అని కూడా పేరొందెను।

Word by Word

• षण्मुखात्: from (being) six-faced
• षण्मुखात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षण्मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (षण् + मुख), पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• षण्मुखः: Ṣaṇmukha
• षण्मुखः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षण्मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Apposition marker/नामार्थक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नाम-शब्दः (particle indicating appellation)

• कार्त्तिकेयः: Kārttikeya
• कार्त्तिकेयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्त्तिकेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तु: indeed / but
• तु: Discourse (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक निपात (emphatic/contrastive particle)

• कृत्तिकात्: from the Kṛttikās
• कृत्तिकात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत्तिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• कुमारः: Kumāra
• कुमारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुमार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Discourse (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• कुमारत्वात्: because of (his) youth/boyhood
• कुमारत्वात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुमारत्व (प्रातिपदिक; -त्व abstract)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• गङ्गागर्भः: Gaṅgāgarbha
• गङ्गागर्भः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा + गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (गङ्गायाः गर्भः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अग्निजः: Agni-born
• अग्निजः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (अग्नेः जातः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अपरः: another / also
• अपरः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (of अग्निजः/गङ्गागर्भः)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced: Āvantya Khaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Gaṅgā-garbha); Agni (Agnija); Kṛttikā (nakṣatra sanctity)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A composite iconographic tableau: Skanda shown with six faces (Ṣaṇmukha), a starry Kṛttikā cluster above, Agni as a radiant flame-form to one side, and Gaṅgā as a flowing goddess-river below; inscriptions of names around the halo.

Characters & Entities

• Ṣaṇmukha
• Kārttikeya
• Kumāra
• Gaṅgā
• Agni
• Kṛttikās

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine names preserve sacred history: each epithet encodes a dharmic meaning and a lineage of divine care and purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā is honored through the epithet Gaṅgā-garbha, portraying her as a sanctified bearer of the divine child.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is a theological naming (nāma-māhātmya) that supports devotion through remembrance.