Shloka 13

द्वैतवन-सरः प्रवेशविघ्नः

Dvaītavana Lake: Obstructed Entry

Devanagari script

षष्ठं छागमयं वक्त्रं स्कन्दस्यैवेति विद्धि तत्‌ । षट्शिरो< भ्यन्तरं राजन्‌ नित्यं मातृगणार्चितम्‌,युधिष्ठिर! स्कन्दका ही छठा मुख छागमय है, यह जान लो। राजन! वह छ: सिरोंके बीचमें स्थित है और मातृकाएँ सदा उसकी पूजा करती हैं

Transliteration

ṣaṣṭhaṃ chāgamayaṃ vaktraṃ skandasyāveti viddhi tat | ṣaṭśirobhyantaraṃ rājan nityaṃ mātṛgaṇārcitam ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya nói: “Hãy biết rằng Skanda có một khuôn mặt thứ sáu mang hình tướng dê. Hỡi đại vương, nó ngự ở bên trong vòng nội tại giữa sáu đầu của ngài, và đoàn Mẫu thần (Mātṛkā) không ngừng thờ phụng nó.”

Word by Word

षष्ठम्sixth

छागमयम्made of a goat (goat-like)

वक्त्रम्face, mouth

स्कन्दस्यof Skanda

एवindeed, just

इतिthus (quotative)

विद्धिknow (you), understand

तत्that

षट्शिरःthe six-headed one

अभ्यन्तरम्interior, within (in the middle)

राजन्O king

नित्यम्always

मातृगणby the host of Mothers (Matrikas)

अर्चितम्worshipped, honored

युधिष्ठिरO Yudhishthira

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

Skanda (Kārttikeya)

Yudhiṣṭhira

Mātṛgaṇa (Mātṛkās)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes reverent recognition of divine forms: Skanda’s unusual sixth, goat-formed face is presented as a sacred reality honored by the Mātṛkās, underscoring that devotion extends to all aspects of the deity, even those that appear strange or esoteric.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya addresses Yudhiṣṭhira (as ‘O king’) and explains a specific feature of Skanda’s form—his sixth face—stating its location among the six heads and noting that the Mother-goddesses continually worship it.