Vamana Purana — Birth of Skanda (Kartikeya), Shloka 89

The Birth and Consecration of Skanda (Kartikeya) at Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

चक्रतीर्थं सुचजक्राक्षं मकराश्रं गयाशिरः गणं पञ्चशिखं नाम ददौ कनखलः स्वकम्

Transliteration

cakratīrthaṃ sucajakrākṣaṃ makarāśraṃ gayāśiraḥ gaṇaṃ pañcaśikhaṃ nāma dadau kanakhalaḥ svakam

Translation

["Kumāra/Skanda", "Brahmā", "Devas (collective)"]

Word by Word

• चक्रतीर्थम्: Cakratīrtha
• चक्रतीर्थम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्र + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (चक्रस्य तीर्थम्)

• सुचजक्राक्षम्: Sucakrākṣa (proper name)
• सुचजक्राक्षम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु + चक्र + अक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; उपसर्ग/उपपद-युक्त समासः; अर्थतः ‘सु-चक्र-अक्ष’ (good wheel/eye) नाम

• मकराश्रम्: Makarāśrama (proper name)
• मकराश्रम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मकर + आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मकरस्य आश्रमः)

• गयाशिरः: Gayāśiras (proper name)
• गयाशिरः: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया + शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गयायाः शिरः)

• गणम्: a group/collection (named)
• गणम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पञ्चशिखम्: Pañcaśikha (five-crested; proper name)
• पञ्चशिखम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च + शिख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (पञ्च शिखाः यस्य/पञ्चशिखम्)

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नाम-शब्दः (quotative/‘by name’)

• ददौ: gave
• ददौ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कनखलः: Kanakhala (proper name)
• कनखलः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कनखल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• स्वकम्: his own
• स्वकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying the given item(s))

Speakers

• Not explicitly marked in the given extract; within Saromāhātmya the narration is typically in a sage-to-sage purāṇic dialogue (contextual).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Sacred geography cataloguing
• Tīrtha enumeration and sanctification
• Place-name etymology (cakra, makara, śiras)
• Pilgrimage networks (tīrtha clusters/gaṇa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the function of this verse within the Saromāhātmya?

It operates as a gazetteer-style register: the text groups multiple tīrthas and attributes their ‘bestowal/establishment’ to a named sacred locality (Kanakhala), thereby authorizing their sanctity and linking them into a pilgrimage circuit.

Does ‘gaṇaṃ pañcaśikhaṃ’ mean Śiva’s gaṇas?

Here gaṇa most naturally means a ‘cluster/group’ of sites rather than Śiva’s attendants. The phrase reads as a named cluster—‘the gaṇa called Pañcaśikha’—consistent with tīrtha-listing style.

Why do some names look like descriptive compounds (e.g., Makarāśra, Gayāśiras)?

Purāṇic geography often preserves toponyms as meaningful compounds. Such names can encode local myths (e.g., an aquatic ‘makara’ association) or physical features (śiras = summit/headland), serving both mnemonic and sacralizing purposes.