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

Il existe sept régions souterraines (Pātāla), sept continents (dvīpa) et, de même, sept mondes célestes. À présent, je décrirai les sept dvīpas : écoutez leur ordonnance.

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.