Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

लक्षेण धनुषां योगस्तदर्धेन हुताशनः । पात्रं शतसहस्रेण रेवा रुद्रश्च षष्टिभिः

Transliteration

lakṣeṇa dhanuṣāṃ yogastadardhena hutāśanaḥ | pātraṃ śatasahasreṇa revā rudraśca ṣaṣṭibhiḥ

Translation

Un « Yoga » se compte par un lakh d’arcs ; par la moitié de cela, Hutāśana, le Feu sacré. Un réceptacle digne (pātra) ne se trouve qu’au milieu de cent mille ; et Reva (la Narmadā) ainsi que Rudra sont plus rares encore — selon le décompte traditionnel, « par soixante ».

Word by Word

• लक्षेण: by a lakh (100,000)
• लक्षेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (Instrumental sg: 'by/with a lakh')

• धनुषाम्: of bows
• धनुषाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन (Genitive pl)

• योगः: the measure/extent (lit. 'joining/length')
• योगः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Nominative sg)

• तदर्धेन: by half of that
• तदर्धेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + अर्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तस्य अर्धेन = 'by half of that')

• हुताशनः: Fire (Agni)
• हुताशनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हुत (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; हु धातोः क्त) + अशन्/अशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (हुतं अश्नाति इति)

• पात्रम्: a vessel; a worthy recipient
• पात्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• शतसहस्रेण: by a hundred thousand
• शतसहस्रेण: Karana (Instrument/Measure/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (शतानि सहस्राणि = 100,000)

• रेवा: Revā (Narmadā river)
• रेवा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रेवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• रुद्रः: Rudra (Śiva)
• रुद्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• षष्टिभिः: by sixty (units)
• षष्टिभिः: Karana (Instrument/Measure/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (Instrumental pl: 'by sixties/with sixty')

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), deduced for Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narration

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage teaches a king using symbolic tallies: heaps of bows, a blazing sacrificial fire, a rare worthy recipient, and the divine river Revā flowing with Rudra’s presence hovering above—conveying graded rarity.

Characters & Entities

• Hutāśana (Agni)
• Reva (Narmadā)
• Rudra (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse uses numerical comparisons to stress gradations of rarity—especially the rarity of true worthiness and of contact with supreme sanctities like Reva and Rudra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Reva—the Narmadā River—is explicitly mentioned, indicating her exceptional sanctity in sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies discernment in dāna through the idea of ‘pātra’ (a fit recipient), and references Agni (hutāśana) connected with Vedic rites.