Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

पातालानि च द्वीपानि स्वर्लोकाः सप्तसप्त च । सप्त द्वीपानि वक्ष्यामि श्रृणु तेषां प्रकल्पनाम्

Transliteration

pātālāni ca dvīpāni svarlokāḥ saptasapta ca | sapta dvīpāni vakṣyāmi śrṛṇu teṣāṃ prakalpanām

Translation

Es gibt sieben Unterwelten (Pātāla), sieben Kontinente (dvīpa) und ebenso sieben Himmelswelten. Nun will ich die sieben dvīpas schildern—hört ihre Ordnung.

Word by Word

• pātālāni: netherworlds
• pātālāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• dvīpāni: continents/islands
• dvīpāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन

• svarlokāḥ: heaven-worlds
• svarlokāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarloka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (svaraḥ lokaḥ)

• sapta-sapta: seven and seven (in sets of seven)
• sapta-sapta: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक (distributive/reduplicated): ‘seven and seven’/‘seven each’; अव्ययवत् प्रयोग

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक विशेषण; dvīpāni इति विशेषण (नपुंस, द्वितीया, बहुवचन-अन्वय)

• dvīpāni: continents/islands
• dvīpāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• vakṣyāmi: I will describe
• vakṣyāmi: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śṛṇu: hear (listen)
• śṛṇu: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंस, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• prakalpanām: the arrangement/constitution
• prakalpanām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pra-kḷp (धातु) → prakalpanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sapta-dvīpa (cosmographic)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred map unfurls: seven dvīpas depicted as concentric landmasses with oceans between, above them seven heavens as luminous tiers, below seven pātālas as jeweled strata; the narrator gestures as if beginning a formal description.

Characters & Entities

• Pātāla
• Dvīpa
• Svarloka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Listening (śravaṇa) to dhārmic cosmology is presented as part of sacred knowledge—revealing a universe graded into realms, each with its ordained place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named; the verse introduces a sacred-geographical schema (dvīpas/lokas) used across Purāṇic pilgrimage imagination.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A listening instruction (śṛṇu) is given, but no formal rite (vrata/dāna/snānā) is prescribed.