Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

एष चाथर्वणं वेदं शतकल्पं सुविस्तरम् । शतभेदं च नवधा पंचकल्पं करिष्यति

Transliteration

eṣa cātharvaṇaṃ vedaṃ śatakalpaṃ suvistaram | śatabhedaṃ ca navadhā paṃcakalpaṃ kariṣyati

Translation

Il mettra aussi en ordre l’Atharva-Veda, largement développé en cent kalpas ; il le divisera en cent branches et l’organisera selon des classifications en neuf et en cinq parties.

Word by Word

• eṣaḥ: this (one)
• eṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयार्थक-निपात, conjunction)

• ātharvaṇam: Atharvan (pertaining to Atharva)
• ātharvaṇam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātharvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (वेदम् इति)

• vedam: Veda
• vedam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• śatakalpam: having a hundred kalpas (sections)
• śatakalpam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (शतं कल्पाः यस्य/शतकल्पः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (वेदम्)

• suvistaram: very extensive
• suvistaram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (सु-विस्तरः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (वेदम्)

• śatabhedam: into a hundred divisions
• śatabhedam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + bheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (शतं भेदाः यस्य/शतभेदः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (वेदम्/विभाजनम्)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयार्थक)

• navadhā: in nine ways
• navadhā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nava (प्रातिपदिक) + dhā (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकारवाचक), 'नवधा' = नव-प्रकारेण (in nine ways)

• paṃcakalpam: into five kalpas
• paṃcakalpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paṃca (प्रातिपदिक) + kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (पञ्च कल्पाः यस्य/पञ्चकल्पः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (वेदम्/विभाजनम्)

• kariṣyati: will make / will arrange
• kariṣyati: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातु: कृ (to do/make)

Speaker

Ākāśavāṇī (celestial voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A prophetic tableau: the child, radiant, is envisioned as a future sage-scholar arranging palm-leaf manuscripts, marking divisions and branches of the Atharva-Veda, while the pippala tree shelters the scene like a living canopy of knowledge.

Characters & Entities

• Atharva-Veda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine descent is validated through service to śruti—preserving, organizing, and transmitting Vedic knowledge for the world’s welfare.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse continues the tīrtha-context indirectly; the emphasis is on the child’s future Vedic work rather than naming a location.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it foretells Vedic organization (kalpa/bheda) associated with ritual and practice.