Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 156

Devanagari script

चतुःषष्टिसहस्राणि कुरुदेशः प्रकीर्तितः । सार्धलक्षस्तथा प्रोक्तः किरातविजयो जयः

Transliteration

catuḥṣaṣṭisahasrāṇi kurudeśaḥ prakīrtitaḥ | sārdhalakṣastathā proktaḥ kirātavijayo jayaḥ

Translation

কুরু-দেশে চৌষট্টি হাজার গ্রাম বলে কীর্তিত। আর ‘জয়’ নামে প্রসিদ্ধ কিরাতবিজয়ে দেড় লক্ষ গ্রাম বলা হয়েছে।

Word by Word

• चतुःषष्टिसहस्राणि: sixty-four thousand(s)
• चतुःषष्टिसहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुः (संख्या) + षष्टि (संख्या) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; बहुवचन; द्विगु-समास (numeral compound)

• कुरुदेशः: the Kuru country
• कुरुदेशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + देश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘कुरोः देशः’

• प्रकीर्तितः: is declared
• प्रकीर्तितः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + कीर्त् (धातु) → प्रकीर्तित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• सार्धलक्षः: one and a half lakhs (150,000)
• सार्धलक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सार्ध (अव्यय/उपपद) + लक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव: ‘सार्धं लक्षम्’ (= one and a half lakhs)

• तथा: thus/also
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• प्रोक्तः: is said
• प्रोक्तः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु) → प्रोक्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• किरातविजयः: Kīrāta-vijaya (victory over Kirātas / name)
• किरातविजयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किरात (प्रातिपदिक) + विजय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘किरातानां विजयः’

• जयः: Jaya (name)/victory
• जयः: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator gestures to two contrasting landscapes: the fertile plains of Kuru with orderly villages and fields, and a mountainous Kirāta frontier with forested slopes and scattered settlements, suggesting a civilizational span.

Characters & Entities

• Kuru
• Kirātavijaya
• Jaya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

By naming famed dharmic regions, the text sacralizes history and place, encouraging remembrance of the world as upheld by dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None explicitly; these are territorial identifications within a larger catalogue.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.