Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

नासिकाद्वारमासाद्य संस्थिते देहवर्धने । वायुरग्निश्चंद्रमाश्च पंचधा पंचधात्र च

Transliteration

nāsikādvāramāsādya saṃsthite dehavardhane | vāyuragniścaṃdramāśca paṃcadhā paṃcadhātra ca

Translation

เมื่อไปถึงประตูแห่งนาสิกาแล้ว นาฑีเหล่านั้นตั้งมั่นเพื่อความเจริญและการค้ำจุนกาย ที่นั่นเอง ปราณวายุ อัคนี และหลักจันทรา ต่างดำเนินการเป็นห้าประการๆ

Word by Word

• nāsikā-dvāram: the nostril-gate (nasal passage)
• nāsikā-dvāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāsikā (प्रातिपदिक) + dvāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (nāsikāyāḥ dvāram), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• āsādya: having reached
• āsādya: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√sad (सद् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘आसाद्य’ = having reached/approached

• saṃsthite: (two) are situated
• saṃsthite: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ-√sthā (स्था धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; (iḍā-piṅgalā-आदि नाड्यौ प्रति) ‘स्थिते’

• deha-vardhane: in the body-nourishing (place/function)
• deha-vardhane: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक) + vardhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (dehasya vardhanam), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• vāyuḥ: wind (vāyu)
• vāyuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• agniḥ: fire
• agniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• candramāḥ: the moon
• candramāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: candramas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• paṃcadhā: in fivefold manner
• paṃcadhā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paṃcadhā (अव्यय)
• Form: संख्यापूर्वक-प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (adverb: in five ways)

• paṃcadhā: fivefold
• paṃcadhā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paṃcadhā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (repetition for emphasis)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (here)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāsikā-dvāra (inner dvāra-tīrtha)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvija/ṛṣi audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close focus on a meditating yogin’s face; subtle streams enter/exit both nostrils; three luminous orbs symbolize agni (red), candra (white), and vāyu (transparent/blue), each splitting into five rays around the nasal gateway.

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu
• Agni
• Candramā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It elevates breath and inner energies as sacred supports of life, implying that mindful regulation of prāṇa aids both bodily welfare and spiritual steadiness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No geographical tīrtha is mentioned; the teaching is about the ‘inner altar’ of breath and energies.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed, though the focus on the nostril-gateway naturally aligns with prāṇāyāma-oriented sādhana in the wider tradition.