Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

एवं वै वर्तमानेऽस्मिंल्लोके तु नृपपुंगव । ऋषीणां दशकोट्यस्तु कुरुक्षेत्रनिवासिनाम्

Transliteration

evaṃ vai vartamāne'smiṃlloke tu nṛpapuṃgava | ṛṣīṇāṃ daśakoṭyastu kurukṣetranivāsinām

Translation

So, solange diese Welt fortbesteht, o bester der Könige, heißt es, dass zehn Krore von ṛṣis in Kurukṣetra wohnen.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): ‘एवम्’ = thus

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): emphasis/indeed

• वर्तमाने: existing, present
• वर्तमाने: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर्तमान (कृदन्त; √वृत् (धातु))
• Form: वर्तमान-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present participle active); नपुंसकलिङ्गे/पुंलिङ्गे?—अत्र ‘अस्मिन् लोके’ इति सापेक्षे सति सप्तमी एकवचनम् (Locative singular)

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुं/नपुंसक; सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular)

• लोके: world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• तु: but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): but/indeed

• नृपपुंगव: O best of kings
• नृपपुंगव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप + पुंगव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; पुंलिङ्ग; तत्पुरुष-समास (नृपाणां पुंगवः)

• ऋषीणाम्: of sages
• ऋषीणाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन (plural)

• दशकोट्यः: ten crores
• दशकोट्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दश + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (दश कोटयः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): and/but (contrast/emphasis)

• कुरुक्षेत्रनिवासिनाम्: of the residents of Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रनिवासिनाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुक्षेत्र + निवासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कुरुक्षेत्रे निवासिनः); पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages; addressed listener within narrative: a king (nṛpa-puṃgava)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kurukṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpapuṅgava / nṛpasattama (the king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast dharmakṣetra plain shimmering with ascetic fires; innumerable ṛṣis seated in clusters, matted hair and deer-skins, reciting Veda; distant sacrificial altars and a faint river-line on the horizon.

Characters & Entities

• Kurukṣetra
• Ṛṣis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa maps a living sacred world, populated by sages; tīrthas are portrayed as enduring spiritual ecosystems.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kurukṣetra is explicitly mentioned as a major sacred field inhabited by vast numbers of ṛṣis.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse provides a sacred-geographical assertion about Kurukṣetra’s resident sages.