Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 137

Devanagari script

एकविंशतिसाहस्रं ग्रामणां नीलपूरके । तथामलविषये पार्थ ग्राममाणामेकलक्षकम्

Transliteration

ekaviṃśatisāhasraṃ grāmaṇāṃ nīlapūrake | tathāmalaviṣaye pārtha grāmamāṇāmekalakṣakam

Translation

À Nīlapūraka, l’on dit qu’il y a vingt et un mille villages. Et, ô Pārtha, dans le territoire de Mala, l’on affirme que les villages atteignent un lakh.

Word by Word

• एकविंशतिसाहस्रम्: twenty-one thousand
• एकविंशतिसाहस्रम्: Karma/Pradhana-visheshya (Object/quantified total)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + विंशति (प्रातिपदिक) + साहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष/द्विगुसदृश संख्यासमास (एकविंशतिः साहस्रम् = 21,000)

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

• नीलपूरके: in Nīlapūraka
• नीलपूरके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नीलपूरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (स्थाननाम)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha/Upapada (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• अमलविषये: in Amala-viṣaya (region)
• अमलविषये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमलविषय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (स्थाननाम: अमल-विषय)

• पार्थ: O Pārtha
• पार्थ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• ग्राममाणाम्: of villages
• ग्राममाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; (पाठभेद/लिप्यन्तरदोषसम्भवः: ग्रामाणाम्)

• एकलक्षकम्: one lakh
• एकलक्षकम्: Karma/Pradhana-visheshya (Object/quantified total)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + लक्षक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (एकं लक्षं = one lakh)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced; vocative 'pārtha' retained as in transmitted verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nīlapūraka; Mala-viṣaya (regional listing)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator addressing ‘Pārtha’ (a kṣatriya hero) while pointing to two regions on a map: Nīlapūraka with fewer clusters, Mala with a larger spread; the contrast in numbers is visually apparent.

Characters & Entities

• Nīlapūraka
• Mala-viṣaya
• Pārtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse preserves sacred toponyms and a sense of vastness—Purāṇic dharma links spiritual memory with the breadth of the land.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is praised; the regions Nīlapūraka and Mala-viṣaya are named.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.