Shloka 12
द्वैतवन-सरः प्रवेशविघ्नः
Dvaītavana Lake: Obstructed Entry
एष वीराष्टक: प्रोक्त: स्कन्दमातृगणोद्धव: । छागवकक््त्रेण सहितो नवक: परिकीर्त्यते,शिशु और मातृगणोंको लेकर जो आठ व्यक्ति होते हैं, उन्हें “वीराष्टक” कहा गया है। बकरेके-से मुखसे युक्त स्कन्दको सम्मिलित करनेसे यह समुदाय वीर-नवक कहा जाता है
eṣa vīrāṣṭakaḥ proktaḥ skandamātṛgaṇoddhavaḥ | chāgavakaktrena sahito navakaḥ parikīrtyate ||
Mārkaṇḍeya nói: “Nhóm này được gọi là ‘Vīrāṣṭaka’—tám bậc anh hùng phát sinh gắn với Skanda và đoàn Mẫu thần. Khi kể thêm Skanda, vị được nói là có gương mặt như dê, thì toàn thể được gọi là ‘Vīra-navaka’, nhóm anh hùng chín vị.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse classifies protective divine forces into a structured set: eight ‘vīras’ associated with Skanda and the Mother-goddesses are called the Vīrāṣṭaka; adding Skanda (noted here by a distinctive goat-faced form) makes the set nine, the Vīra-navaka. The emphasis is on naming and recognizing sacred groupings used in mythic-ritual contexts.
Mārkaṇḍeya is explaining a traditional enumeration: a group of eight beings connected with Skanda and the Mātṛkās is identified and given a formal name, and then the count is expanded to nine by explicitly including Skanda, yielding a second formal designation.