Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 163

Devanagari script

एवं भरतखंडेऽस्मिन्षण्णवत्येव कोटयः । द्वासप्ततिस्तथा लक्षाः पत्तनानां प्रकीर्तिताः

Transliteration

evaṃ bharatakhaṃḍe'sminṣaṇṇavatyeva koṭayaḥ | dvāsaptatistathā lakṣāḥ pattanānāṃ prakīrtitāḥ

Translation

So heißt es, dass es in diesem Bhārata-khaṇḍa sechsundneunzig Koṭi (96 Crore) heiliger Einteilungen/Siedlungen gebe, und ebenso zweiundsiebzig Lakh an Städten — so wird es in der Überlieferung verkündet.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारार्थक (thus)

• भरत-खण्डे: in Bhārata-khaṇḍa (India-region)
• भरत-खण्डे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत (प्रातिपदिक) + खण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (भरतस्य खण्डः)

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• षण्णवतिः: ninety-six
• षण्णवतिः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षण्णवति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (ninety-six)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (indeed)

• कोटयः: crores
• कोटयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• द्वा-सप्ततिः: seventy-two
• द्वा-सप्ततिः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वा (प्रातिपदिक) + सप्तति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः (seventy-two)

• तथा: also
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अन्वयार्थे (also)

• लक्षाः: lakhs
• लक्षाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• पत्तनानाम्: of cities/towns
• पत्तनानाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्तन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• प्रकीर्तिताः: are proclaimed
• प्रकीर्तिताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कीर्त् (धातु) + प्र (उपसर्ग) → प्रकीर्तित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘have been proclaimed’

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhārata-khaṇḍa (as dharma-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast aerial vision of Bhārata filled with countless towns like lamps; a narrator proclaims the numbers as the land glows with sacred density.

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata-khaṇḍa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is mapped onto geography: Bhārata is portrayed as a vast sacred field where countless places can become sources of puṇya through devotion and right conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it sets a grand geographic frame that supports the later praise of Kumārikā-kṣetra and Kumārīśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse functions as a mahātmya-style enumeration to emphasize the sacred landscape.