Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

नवकं दशकं चैव तथैकादशकं त्वथ । द्वादशकं चाष्टादशकमेकोनविंशकं तथा

Transliteration

navakaṃ daśakaṃ caiva tathaikādaśakaṃ tvatha | dvādaśakaṃ cāṣṭādaśakamekonaviṃśakaṃ tathā

Translation

کسی کے نو پھن تھے، کسی کے دس؛ اسی طرح کسی کے گیارہ؛ پھر کسی کے بارہ، کسی کے اٹھارہ اور کسی کے انیس پھن بھی تھے۔

Word by Word

• नवकम्: a set of nine
• नवकम्: Karma/Predicate-Nominative (object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नवक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• दशकम्: a set of ten
• दशकम्: Karma/Predicate-Nominative (object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्यय (particle; emphasis/limitation)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (adverb)

• एकादशकम्: a set of eleven
• एकादशकम्: Karma/Predicate-Nominative (object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एकादशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तु: but/and then
• तु: Sambandha (particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्यय (particle; contrast/emphasis)

• अथ: then/next
• अथ: Sambandha (sequencer/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, आरम्भ/अनन्तरार्थक (discourse particle)

• द्वादशकम्: a set of twelve
• द्वादशकम्: Karma/Predicate-Nominative (object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अष्टादशकम्: a set of eighteen
• अष्टादशकम्: Karma/Predicate-Nominative (object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टादशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• एकोनविंशकम्: a set of nineteen
• एकोनविंशकम्: Karma/Predicate-Nominative (object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + ऊन (प्रातिपदिक) + विंशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (विंशकात् एकेन ऊनम् = ‘one less than twenty’ = 19)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (adverb)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), by section-level deduction within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedārakṣetra (Kedāra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nāgas with nine, ten, eleven, twelve, eighteen, and nineteen hoods rise like living canopies; the hood-fans overlap, creating a layered mandala around the unseen Śiva-center.

Characters & Entities

• Nāga (serpents)
• Śiva (implied context of Śiva’s ornaments)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even awe-inspiring cosmic beings (nāgas) appear as part of Śiva’s divine adornment, underscoring His supremacy and auspiciousness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra/Kedārakṣetra (Kedārakhaṇḍa context), where Śiva’s majesty is praised as part of the place’s māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is primarily descriptive (stuti/varṇana) of divine attendants and ornaments.