Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 155

Devanagari script

ग्रामाणां च चतुर्लक्षो बाल्हिकः परिकीर्त्यते । षट्त्रिंशच्च सहस्राणि लंकादेशः प्रकीर्तितः

Transliteration

grāmāṇāṃ ca caturlakṣo bālhikaḥ parikīrtyate | ṣaṭtriṃśacca sahasrāṇi laṃkādeśaḥ prakīrtitaḥ

Translation

Bālhika wird gerühmt, vier Lakhs an Dörfern zu besitzen. Das Land Laṅkā wird mit sechsunddreißigtausend Dörfern angegeben.

Word by Word

• ग्रामाणाम्: of villages
• ग्रामाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th); बहुवचन (Plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• चतुःलक्षः: four lakhs (400,000)
• चतुःलक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुः (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + लक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st); एकवचन (Singular); द्विगु-समास (numeral compound)

• बाल्हिकः: Bālhika (country/region)
• बाल्हिकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल्हिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st); एकवचन (Singular)

• परिकीर्त्यते: is proclaimed/mentioned
• परिकीर्त्यते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कीर्त् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present); कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive); प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd); एकवचन (Singular); उपसर्ग: परि-

• षट्त्रिंशत्: thirty-six
• षट्त्रिंशत्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षट् (संख्या) + त्रिंशत् (संख्या)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-शब्द; (अव्ययवत्) संख्या; सहस्राणि इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st); बहुवचन (Plural)

• लङ्कादेशः: the land of Laṅkā
• लङ्कादेशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लङ्का (प्रातिपदिक) + देश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st); एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative): ‘लङ्कायाः देशः’

• प्रकीर्तितः: is declared/has been stated
• प्रकीर्तितः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + कीर्त् (धातु) → प्रकीर्तित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; उपसर्ग: प्र-

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A purāṇic narrator enumerates distant lands—Bālhika and Laṅkā—while a stylized map-like vista shows clustered villages, coastlines, and island contours, suggesting the immensity of the inhabited world.

Characters & Entities

• Bālhika
• Laṅkā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa presents the earth as a sacred tapestry; even distant lands are placed within a dharmic, remembered order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is specified; the mention of Laṅkā is geographic rather than a tīrtha-stuti in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.