Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

चतुर्लक्षप्रमाणानि द्वापरेद्वापरे सदा । तदाष्टादशधा कृष्णा भूर्लोकेऽस्मिन्प्रभाषते

Transliteration

caturlakṣapramāṇāni dvāparedvāpare sadā | tadāṣṭādaśadhā kṛṣṇā bhūrloke'sminprabhāṣate

Translation

Ces Purāṇa ont toujours, à chaque Dvāpara-yuga, la mesure de quatre lakhs (quatre cent mille) de vers; puis Kṛṣṇa les proclame ici, dans le monde des hommes, en dix-huit divisions.

Word by Word

• चतुर्लक्षप्रमाणानि: (having) a measure of four lakhs
• चतुर्लक्षप्रमाणानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catur-lakṣa (चतुर्लक्ष, संख्याप्रातिपदिक) + pramāṇa (प्रमाण, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• द्वापरे: in the Dvāpara (yuga)
• द्वापरे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvāpara (द्वापर, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• द्वापरे: in each Dvāpara
• द्वापरे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvāpara (द्वापर, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन (Singular); पुनरुक्ति

• सदा: always
• सदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (सदा, अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (तदा, अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• अष्टादशधा: in eighteen ways; eighteenfold
• अष्टादशधा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aṣṭādaśa (अष्टादश, संख्याप्रातिपदिक) + dhā (धा, अव्यय-प्रत्ययार्थ)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb): ‘eighteenfold’

• कृष्णा: Kṛṣṇā (a feminine named entity)
• कृष्णा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• भूः: Earth
• भूः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (भू, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (लोक, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम्, सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• प्रभाषते: speaks; proclaims
• प्रभाषते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√bhāṣ (प्र+भाष्, धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); आत्मनेपद (Ātmanepada)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (contextual attribution)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (e.g., Śaunaka-led assembly)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-assembly at Prabhāsa hears about the vast Purāṇic corpus across yugas, with Kṛṣṇa as the divine proclaimer dividing the teaching into eighteen parts; the sea-coast and sacred precinct subtly frame the discourse.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa (Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa)
• Eighteen Purāṇas
• Dvāpara Yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Scripture is structured for the world’s benefit; division and measure serve clarity, remembrance, and dharma’s continuity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Prabhāsa Kṣetra Māhātmya is the setting, but the verse discusses the Purāṇas’ earthly proclamation rather than a specific tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.