Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

सहस्रधारामारभ्य पूर्वतः सरयूजले । षट्त्रिंशदधिका प्रोक्ता धनुषां षट्शती मितिः

Transliteration

sahasradhārāmārabhya pūrvataḥ sarayūjale | ṣaṭtriṃśadadhikā proktā dhanuṣāṃ ṣaṭśatī mitiḥ

Translation

सहस्रधारा से आरम्भ करके सरयू के जल में पूर्व दिशा की ओर इसकी माप छह सौ छत्तीस धनुष बताई गई है।

Word by Word

• सहस्रधाराम्: the thousand-stream (channel/flow)
• सहस्रधाराम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र-धारा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सहस्रस्य धाराः)

• आरभ्य: starting from
• आरभ्य: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ-√रभ् (धातु)
• Form: अव्यय; क्त्वान्त (gerund) प्रयोगः—‘आरभ्य’ = ‘आरम्भं कृत्वा/आरम्भात्’ (having begun/from)

• पूर्वतः: from the east; eastwards
• पूर्वतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; दिशावाचक/क्रियाविशेषण (from the east/eastwards)

• सरयूजले: in the waters of the Sarayū
• सरयूजले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरयू-जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सरय्वाः जलम्)

• षट्त्रिंशत्: thirty-six
• षट्त्रिंशत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षट्त्रिंशत् (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (संख्याशब्द), प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘thirty-six’ (संख्या)

• अधिका: additional; more
• अधिका: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘more/extra’

• प्रोक्ता: is declared
• प्रोक्ता: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√वच् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘said/declared’

• धनुषाम्: of bows (as a measure)
• धनुषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• षट्शती: six hundred
• षट्शती: Visheshya (Head noun/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षट्-शती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—द्विगु (षट् शतानि)

• मितिः: measure; extent
• मितिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Svargadvāra (bounded stretch)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vipra/suvrata interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A schematic yet sacred cartography: Sarayū river with a marked starting point ‘Sahasradhārā’, an arrow pointing east, and a measured stretch indicated by dhanuṣ units; sages/pilgrims consult the measure on the riverbank.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Svargadvāra
• Sahasradhārā
• Sarayū

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma anchors holiness in real landscapes—mapping sacred merit onto rivers, directions, and measurable space.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Svargadvāra’s sacred extent is being described, situated along the Sarayū beginning from Sahasradhārā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite here; it provides geographic parameters for locating the tīrtha.