प्रादुर्भूतं तत: क्षीरं कृत्तिकानामनुत्तमम् ।।1.37.28।। षण्णां षडाननो भूत्वा जग्राह स्तनजं पय:।
Meaning
Then that supreme milk of the six Krittikas appeared, and he, becoming six-faced, took hold of the milk flowing from their breasts.
Word-by-word (pada-artha)
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| prādurbhūtam tataḥ kṣīram | प्रादुर्भूतम् ततः क्षीरम् | then the milk that had appeared | Nominative singular |
| kṛttikānām anuttamam | कृत्तिकानाम् अनुत्तमम् | excellent, of the Krittikas | Genitive / Nominative |
| ṣaṇṇām ṣaḍ-ānanaḥ bhūtvā | षण्णाम् षड्-आननः भूत्वा | of the six, having become six-faced | Genitive / Nominative / Gerund |
| jagrāha stana-jam payaḥ | जग्राह स्तन-जम् पयः | took the milk born of [their] breasts | Verb (perfect) / Accusative |
Scholar commentary
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
The source explains Kartikeya's six faces two ways: either each of the six Krittika stars came forward eager to nurse him first, so he turned his one face into six to drink all their milk at once; or he actually nursed from all six mothers in a split second with a single face, but it appeared to the gods that he had six faces. The source adds that Kartikeya later cites this six-faced form -- five of Shiva's faces plus his own -- in an argument with Shiva over which of them is superior, and this ambidextrous personality is part of why the gods nominate him as Chief of the Celestial Army.
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Reference: 1.37.28 · Bāla Kāṇḍa