Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि ऋषीणामूर्ध्वरेतसाम् । तत्र स्थितानि देवेशि मार्कण्डेयाश्रमांतिके

Transliteration

aṣṭāśītisahasrāṇi ṛṣīṇāmūrdhvaretasām | tatra sthitāni deveśi mārkaṇḍeyāśramāṃtike

Translation

Eighty-eight thousand sages, possessed of sublimated vital energy (celibate ascetics), reside there, O Lady of the gods, near the hermitage of Mārkaṇḍeya.

Word by Word

• अष्टाशीति-सहस्राणि: eighty-thousand (in number)
• अष्टाशीति-सहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टाशीति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); संख्यावाचक द्विगु-समास

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

• ऊर्ध्व-रेतसाम्: of the celibate (sages)
• ऊर्ध्व-रेतसाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊर्ध्व (प्रातिपदिक) + रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural); बहुव्रीहि (those whose semen is upward; i.e., celibate)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• स्थितानि: situated/standing
• स्थितानि: Kriya/Predicate (state)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) → स्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle)

• देवेशि: O Lady of the gods
• देवेशि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवेशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• मार्कण्डेय-आश्रम-अन्तिके: near Mārkaṇḍeya’s hermitage
• मार्कण्डेय-आश्रम-अन्तिके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक) + आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Unknown (contextual narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mārkaṇḍeya-āśrama vicinity (Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Deveśī/Mahādevī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sweeping scene of countless celibate sages near Mārkaṇḍeya’s hermitage—rows of ascetics with jaṭā, kamaṇḍalu, and mṛga-carma, seated in meditation; the air feels charged and still.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Ṛṣis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s greatness is amplified by the tapas of realized sages who inhabit and protect its sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Mārkaṇḍeya-āśrama area within Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated; the verse emphasizes the presence of vast numbers of ascetics as the source of the site’s spiritual power.